Jury selection began yesterday in the case of a Wall Street bigshot accused of dishing insider data to a porn star who passed it on to another lover.
Kathryn Gannon, who has appeared in more than 100 X-rated films, is a fugitive in Vancouver, but her two alleged accomplices are set to go on trial next week in Manhattan federal court.
Judge Kimba Wood ruled last month that the jury will not be told about Gannon’s adventures in the skin trade because it would be too prejudicial to the two men, James McDermott and Anthony Pomponio.
But prospective jurors were asked if the men’s extramarital affairs with Gannon would prejudice them.
The first potential juror, a Sunday-school teacher and church librarian, said she believed “extramarital affairs are wrong but not illegal,” and said any illicit romances would not influence her verdict.
Wood, who was dubbed the “Love Judge” several years ago after she was named the “other woman” in a messy divorce, bounced several people who said it would bias them against the defendants.
“I don’t think it’s right, call me old-fashioned,” said one man who was subsequently dismissed.
In her ruling last month, Wood said the only photograph of the 30-year-old, curvaceous Gannon that could be shown in court is a picture of her face.
Wood also stipulated that the panel should be told only that Gannon is “an actress and a dancer,” the judge said.
Prosecutors allege that in between pillow talk, McDermott, the 48-year-old former CEO of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, bared tips about impending bank mergers.
They say Gannon, 30, who made $88,000 in the scheme, passed along the tips to Pomponio, another lover, who made $86,000.
In court papers, Gannon accused Pomponio of exposing her.
The sexy stripper has taken refuge in the Vancouver penthouse of her new boyfriend, Michael Gillies, and insists she is absolutely innocent of the charges and feels manipulated, victimized and betrayed.
Two XXX-rated friends of Gannon, Natasha Love and Tori, have formed an organization called “Run Marylin Run” to raise cash for her legal expenses. One of their schemes involves playing “tonsil hockey” with a porn star at $20 a kiss.
Opening arguments in the case are scheduled for Monday.