"Pretentious" Manhattanite Throws Himself Going-Away Party, Doesn't Mention He's Going To Jail

Once you've been profiled in the New York Observer as one of the "Gatsbabies," there's really nowhere to go but up, amirite? Not quite so for attorney/Patrick Batemen-lookalike Tabber Benedict—the 35-year-old socialite threw himself a gala going-away party at Chelsea’s Bungalow 8 in January in anticipation of an upcoming years-long vacation to Europe he was about take. But he neglected to tell his friends and guests that he was actually going to prison for almost killing a Long Island dad. “I feel terrible for Tabber because I know there’s no table service where he’s headed,” fellow socialite Justin Ross Lee, another one of the so called "Gatsbabies," told the Post. “He’s the most pretentious person I’ve ever met.”

“He lied to everybody about going to Europe,” one of his friends told the Post. That's because on July 4, 2011, a drunk Benedict (who had a .28 blood-alcohol reading) slammed into cyclist Steven Dorf, a high school teacher and father-of-three. Benedict tried to flee the scene, but two other drivers caught up to him and blocked him from driving on. Benedict pled guilty to 10 total charges, including aggravated vehicular assault, DWI, and leaving the scene of an accident; he was also disbarred from practicing law.

“I have a nine-inch laceration from my back that goes to my stomach, which we have as a lifelong reminder that I was almost killed that day,” Dorn told the court, records show. “He left me on the side of the road to die and he then fled to save himself.” Benedict was ultimately sentenced to 3-to-10 years for aggravated vehicular assault at an upstate prison.

This seems as good a time as any to remind you of Benedict's description of himself from that Observer profile:

“People look at me and they’re like, ‘That spoiled prick,’” said Mr. Benedict, a 35-year-old attorney who recently launched his own practice, Benedict Advisors LLC. He didn’t seem too concerned about that. Although there is one oft-made comparison he can’t abide.

“Don’t tell him he looks like Scott Disick. He hates that,” said one female friend. We brought up his resemblance to Clark Gable, and the woman paused. “I don’t know what Clark Gable looks like,” she said flatly.