U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood did a cosmetic makeover of Marylin Star's career Thursday, ruling that a jury in an insider trading case will learn only that Star is a dancer, model and actress. Not a porn chick.
Wood rejected attempts by prosecutors to expose more about Star aka Kathryn Gannon, a fugitive in a case whose primary defendant is James McDermott Jr., a former Wall Street executive. Defense lawyers had argued against disclosing to the jury that McDermott's lover, Star, worked as an adult actress, exotic dancer and escort, saying in court papers such evidence could only be intended to "incite and inflame" the jury.
Wood made various rulings during a pre-trial hearing Thursday about what evidence can be shown to the jury at a trial scheduled to start April 10 in Manhattan.
Her rulings appeared to weaken the government's case against McDermott, the former chief executive officer at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, and a co-defendant, Anthony P. Pomponio.
Prosecutors had said it was crucial to their case to tell jurors about Star's profession. Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Benjamin Jr. also said it was "absolutely essential" to tell how the insider trading caused the cancellation of an initial public offering by McDermott's company.
Wood said she thought evidence about the public offering would be confusing for the jury and time consuming but left the door open to change her mind.
She was unyielding to prosecutors, though, on the issue of what could be said about Gannon's career, making it unlikely that the jury will ever learn that Pomponio said in a statement that he believed Gannon was a prostitute.
Lawyers for McDermott had successfully argued to the judge that Gannon's career was largely irrelevant to whether she conspired with McDermott and Pomponio to cheat in the stock market.
Prosecutors had wanted at least to refer to Gannon as an "exotic" dancer and as an "adult" film actress. But Wood ruled that neither of the words would be used in front of the jury.
McDermott allegedly stole confidential information about six upcoming bank mergers and gave it to Gannon. She in turn passed it on to another man with whom she was involved, Anthony Pomponio. Prosecutors allege the two made more than $170,000 in illegal profits from the information.
Prosecutors said in court papers and a letter to the judge that Gannon's profession was crucial to their case because her job ``raises the strong inference that McDermott paid her for sex'' and that Gannon's intimate sexual relationship with McDermott was the principal motive for his crime.
Wood said the nature of Gannon's profession was irrelevant because it was possible for prosecutors to show there was a sexual affair between Gannon and McDermott without revealing her occupation.
The judge had said at an earlier hearing that she worried that some jurors might hear Gannon's profession and think the defendants were "sleazy."
McDermott, 48, of Briarcliff Manor is charged along with Pomponio, 45, of North Caldwell, N.J., and Gannon, 30, of Miami, Fla., with conspiracy and securities fraud.
McDermott and Pomponio, who have both pleaded innocent, remain free on bail. Prosecutors are seeking the extradition of Gannon from her Canadian home. Star was not present at the pre-trial hearing.
McDermott resigned from Keefe last summer amid the scandal and the investment bank axed plans to sell stock to the public in an initial public offering (IPO). Defense lawyers also argued in the hearing that remarks McDermott made at a Keefe board meeting in May about an IPO should not be relevant to the case, but federal prosecutors have argued it is critical.
