born Marylin Star is hiding in Vancouver with her fiance and denies any wrongdoing. The FBI issued a warrant for Star's arrest this week in connection with an insider trading scheme with a New York investment banker who was her lover.
The Post has confirmed that Star is staying with her fiance Michael Gillies. However, Star told a friend yesterday that she is innocent and is considering whether to turn herself in to authorities.
"The scandal broke as Ms. [Star] was trying to turn her life around," The Post wrote. "She had recently abandoned an ambitious millennium's-eve sexual stunt in favour of raising a family.
"She is surrounded by friends, lawyers and she is making several decisions in the next couple of days about what to do and whether she decides to give up," said Marc Medoff, a longtime friend of Star's and president of the Adult Press Service in New York. Star allegedly had a two-year relationship with James McDermott McDermott who specialized in helping small banks merge. In 1997 and 1998, McDermott allegedly passed on inside information about some of his bank clients to Star. Star told Medoff that she loved McDermott but that he is now dragging her unfairly into the scandal. Star "was essentially a lamb led to slaughter," Medoff told the National Post.
"She had no idea she had done anything wrong. Kathryn [Star] has a PhD in sex. But when it comes to finance she gets an F for flunking," Medoff said.
Star, who grew up in Prince George, B.C., has been an exotic dancer and adult-movie star since 1991. She was named Miss Nude B.C. in 1991 and became a major fixture on the Canadian dance circuit, earning as much as $2,000 a week. She headed to Los Angeles in 1994 after marrying Bruce Akahoshi, a California produce dealer, whom she met while stripping at a bar in Calgary.
In Los Angeles, Star made adult films and became a major star. But she also earned a reputation as headstrong. "She was a pain in the butt," said Chris Mann, head of Video Team, who made several videos with Star. "She was a prima donna, arrogant and demanding, and the other girls in the industry didn't like working with her. She was not very popular."
Star left Akahoshi on Dec. 27, 1996 -- she wrote him a note saying "Bruce I've left" -- and soon started seeing McDermott. Medoff said the relationship between Star and McDermott ended this year. Star has been living in Miami for the past two years and was about to stage a bizarre New Year's Eve event that involved having sex with 2,000 men, the last one at midnight. However, Medoff said Gillies asked her recently to cancel the project, quit the industry and start a family.
"He wanted her to change her life," Medoff said. "She was at a crossroads: Do a 2,000-man gang-bang, and become the most infamous woman in the history of this planet, or become a mother and raise a family? And that's what she chose. And, she walked away from [the event], which would have netted her millions." Medoff said the allegations have been devastating. "She's distressed. She's horrified and mortified at what has occurred."
The condominium building where Star is staying in Vancouver is in the city's upscale west end, along the seawall. The building has high security and the penthouse unit where she is staying has an ocean view.
