Martin Shkreli, AKA “Pharma Bro,” who gained notoriety for acquiring and jacking up the prices of a life-saving drug used by AIDS patients by 5,000%, officially started his trial for securities fraud on Wednesday.
Shkreli, who previously said, “I’m so innocent, the jury, judge and prosecution are gonna give me an apology,” gave an impromptu press conference during a lunch break on Friday, describing the prosecution as “junior varsity” and complaining that “people blame me for everything to a group of reporters in a sixth-floor courtroom set up for them to watch the trial via closed-circuit television.
Benjamin Brafman, Shkreli’s lawyer, interrupted the tirade by peering into the room and saying, “Martin, can I talk to you for a minute?”
So when CNBC’s Meg Tirrell caught up with the pair outside the courtroom and asked Brafman about the comments his client made about the trial and the prosecution, Shkreli interrupted by saying, “He’ll do whatever he wants.”
J-Lo’s Pre-Taped Fourth of July Performance Angers Locals
Jennifer Lopez was in Long Island City, Queens, Friday pre-taping a performance for Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks show — but some locals weren’t thrilled about Jenny on their block.
Residents of a building on Borden Avenue, near the park where J.Lo and other acts perform, say the broadcast turns their block into an annual nightmare and robs them of their liberty to celebrate the Fourth.
“J.Lo is pre-taping today,” groaned resident James Edstrom on Friday, adding that cars were “being towed.”
Edstrom says that his Hunters Point South building, which has some tenants who are veterans, will be “in a frozen zone,” which means residents can’t leave the property after 1 p.m. on Independence Day due to tight security measures. “Homeland Security allows us to have four guests [come to the building], but they have to be here by 1 p.m.,” he said.
Residents can’t use other areas of their building to watch the fireworks: One told local NBC News, “It feels like a prison.” Edstrom added, “The mayor is having a party on the roof of the adjacent school — so I am locked in my building and all I can do is watch Mayor de Blasio party on a roof.”
A Macy’s rep explained that the NYPD and other agencies implement a safety plan for the event and “a command and broadcast center must be placed within close range of the fireworks barges. Unfortunately, that may result in some restricted access for local residents.”
