Jail Didn't Teach Sam Waksal Much Humility
Famous insider-trader Sam Waksal, whose overgenerous tipstering led to Martha Stewart's incarceration, is out of the big house! Well, sort of. After serving five years in a Michigan jail, he's been transferred to a not-so-big-house, a half-way facility in the Bronx. You'll be glad to hear that such modest surroundings aren't inhibiting Waksal from flaunting his wealth: Yesterday he returned from a shopping trip carrying a bag from Smythson's, the stationery store where you can pick up notebooks and the like for as little as $75. (Perhaps he was buying a gift for Martha? A message book that can be carried from place to place away from prying eyes, maybe?)
Needless to say such comings and goings are triggering resentment and accusations of "VIP treatment" from his semi-rehabilitated cohorts, according to a source inside the 120-inmate facility who spoke to the Post.
When the 60-year-old founder of ImClone arrived on Thursday: "They blocked off the whole reception area just for him...Then the director told everyone else that they can't talk to reporters about him." Well, we guess you don't end up in a halfway-house without a slight willingness to disregard authority! We look forward to more on Sam's new home.