Break out the tiny violins: Because his assets are frozen, accused Ponzi schemer Kenneth Starr now has to rely on a public defender! Last week the 68-year-old celebrity financial adviser was living with his ex-stripper wife in a $7.5 million Manhattan apartment (where the feds found him hiding under laundry in a closet). Now he's behind bars and relying on Peggy Cross of the Federal Defenders of New York to represent him. We're sure she's a fine attorney, but don't any white shoe law firms want to do some pro bono work for a down-and-out Ponzi schemer?
Yesterday federal regulators revealed that Starr took out approximately $4 million in mortgages on the condo he allegedly bought with cash stolen from Uma Thurman and other wealthy clients, the Post reports. And more of Starr's former clients are now coming forward and accusing Starr of cheating them; prosecutors say he may have stolen more than the $30 million they originally estimated.
To make sure Starr doesn't spend any of the misappropriated money on his legal defense, Judge Sidney Stein appointed a legal monitor to track his expenses. Starr was being defended by attorney Josh Klein but Klein dropped the case today because of an unspecified "conflict of interest." Could it be his interest in getting paid is conflicting with the case? Because there is now "a substantial question as to whether whether Mr. Starr has the resources to retain counsel," as federal Magistrate Judge Theodore Katz put it this afternoon.
