Kenneth I. Starr
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Ira Starr is a former American
certified public accountant
and attorney
convicted of running a $30 million Ponzi scheme
with the money of numerous wealthy and celebrity clients. Sentenced in March 2011, Starr is currently serving out his 7.5-year prison term at the Otisville, New York
Federal Correctional Institution
and is due to be released in 2016.
investment firms, Starr formed in his own investment company, Starr & Company, LLC (Starrco), and would subsequently gain many wealthy and well-known clients including a Who's-Who of Hollywood stars like Al Pacino
, Natalie Portman
, Martin Scorsese
, Carly Simon
, Wesley Snipes
, Sylvester Stallone
, and Uma Thurman
.
Starr's financial and legal problems began to surface in the late-1990s after being sued by Sylvester Stallone in connection with the Planet Hollywood
restaurant chain and Starr's alleged role in Stallone's $10 million loss. After this financial setback and still married to his current third wife, Starr had the unfortunate fate of meeting his future fourth wife, Diane Passage, a money-obsessed stripper who Starr was eager to satisfy financially. As his financial world began to crumble, Starr's then-third wife, Marisa Vucci Starr, resigned as Starrco's office manager which led to further problems for Starr and and his failing company, Starrco.
After having fraudulently obtained power of attorney
over the assets of one such client, an elderly 93-year-old named Joan Stanton, Starr then depleted her funds and was subsequently sued by her in civil court in April 2008. After Stanton died in 2009, her daughter, Jane Stanton Hitchcock, went to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
who then began a federal criminal investigation of Starr leading to the uncovering of his multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme and his eventual indictment, arrest, conviction, and sentencing.
At a bail hearing in July 2010, Starr's bail was set at $10 million which he did not post.
In September 2010, Starr pleaded guilty in federal court and was sentenced by United States District Court judge, Shira Scheindlin
, in March 2011 to a 7.5-year prison term.
Starr is currently serving out his prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution located in Otisville, New York, and is scheduled to be released on December 8, 2016.
The investigation of Starr also led to the arrest and conviction of longtime Democratic
politician, New York City Council
member, and former Manhattan Borough President
, Andrew Stein
; for lying to federal investigators about his involvement with Starr's multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme. He was later sentenced to 500 hours of community service.
and entered Queens College at age 15.
Starr has been married four times. He and first wife, Gail Starr, have two children: son, Rob Starr, and daughter, Terri Starr.
After divorcing his first wife, he married second wife, Sheila Starr, who was his then-current office manager. Sheila Starr then hired Starr's future third wife, Marisa Vucci Starr, to replace her as office manager.
After divorcing his second wife, Starr was married in 1991 to third wife, Marisa Vucci Starr, Starrco's then-current office manager. While still married to third wife, Marisa, who was by then suffering from advanced multiple sclerosis
, Starr met Diane Passage, a single mother and dancer at the Scores strip club in Manhattan. In 2007, Starr and Marisa divorced; the couple has two daughters.
In 2007, Starr married his fourth wife, Diane Passage, who then stopped working as a stripper at Scores. After her husband's imprisonment in the fall of 2010, Passage filed for divorce in July 2011 claiming she could not wait for the completion of his prison sentence ending in 2016.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
certified public accountant
Certified Public Accountant
Certified Public Accountant is the statutory title of qualified accountants in the United States who have passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and have met additional state education and experience requirements for certification as a CPA...
and attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
convicted of running a $30 million Ponzi scheme
Ponzi scheme
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation...
with the money of numerous wealthy and celebrity clients. Sentenced in March 2011, Starr is currently serving out his 7.5-year prison term at the Otisville, New York
Otisville, New York
Otisville is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 989 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined...
Federal Correctional Institution
Federal Correctional Institution, Otisville
The Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville is located in Orange County, New York, USA. The federal prison, which opened in 1977, is a medium security facility, located in the Town of Mount Hope a quarter mile from the Otisville Correctional Facility, a New York medium security prison, thus...
and is due to be released in 2016.
Early career and financial problems
After working for various ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
investment firms, Starr formed in his own investment company, Starr & Company, LLC (Starrco), and would subsequently gain many wealthy and well-known clients including a Who's-Who of Hollywood stars like Al Pacino
Al Pacino
Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
, Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman
Natalie Hershlag , better known by her stage name Natalie Portman, is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Her first role was as an orphan taken in by a hitman in the 1994 French action film Léon, but major success came when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel...
, Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
, Carly Simon
Carly Simon
Carly Elisabeth Simon is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records, and has since been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award for her work...
, Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...
, Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
, and Uma Thurman
Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman is an American actress and model. She has performed in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action movies. Among her best-known roles are those in the Quentin Tarantino films Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill...
.
Starr's financial and legal problems began to surface in the late-1990s after being sued by Sylvester Stallone in connection with the Planet Hollywood
Planet Hollywood
Planet Hollywood, a restaurant inspired by the popular portrayal of Hollywood, was launched in New York on October 22, 1991, with the backing of Hollywood stars Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.-History:...
restaurant chain and Starr's alleged role in Stallone's $10 million loss. After this financial setback and still married to his current third wife, Starr had the unfortunate fate of meeting his future fourth wife, Diane Passage, a money-obsessed stripper who Starr was eager to satisfy financially. As his financial world began to crumble, Starr's then-third wife, Marisa Vucci Starr, resigned as Starrco's office manager which led to further problems for Starr and and his failing company, Starrco.
The Ponzi scheme and investigation
Starr initially made large amounts money for clients but then began using client assets for both personal expenses (including the purchase a $7.5 million condominium complete with a swimming pool and 1500 square feet (139.4 m²) garden) and high-risk investments in which he and his associates had financial interests. As personal expenses increased and various high-risk investments failed, Starr began stealing funds outright from older clients and using subsequent investments from newer clients to cover up the prior thefts, thus giving life to the Ponzi scheme that would eventually lead to his downfall.After having fraudulently obtained power of attorney
Power of attorney
A power of attorney or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs, business, or some other legal matter...
over the assets of one such client, an elderly 93-year-old named Joan Stanton, Starr then depleted her funds and was subsequently sued by her in civil court in April 2008. After Stanton died in 2009, her daughter, Jane Stanton Hitchcock, went to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is a federal district court. Appeals from the Southern District of New York are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case...
who then began a federal criminal investigation of Starr leading to the uncovering of his multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme and his eventual indictment, arrest, conviction, and sentencing.
Indictment, arrest, conviction, and sentencing
In May 2010, Starr was indicted and arrested on 23 criminal counts including various fraud charges and money laundering. When authorities went to arrest him, they found him hiding in a closet at the very upscale Manhattan apartment he allegedly purchased and lavishly furnished from stolen funds.At a bail hearing in July 2010, Starr's bail was set at $10 million which he did not post.
In September 2010, Starr pleaded guilty in federal court and was sentenced by United States District Court judge, Shira Scheindlin
Shira Scheindlin
Shira A. Scheindlin is a United States District Court judge for the Southern District of New York. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on July 28, 1994, to a seat vacated by Louis J...
, in March 2011 to a 7.5-year prison term.
Starr is currently serving out his prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution located in Otisville, New York, and is scheduled to be released on December 8, 2016.
The investigation of Starr also led to the arrest and conviction of longtime Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
politician, New York City Council
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...
member, and former Manhattan Borough President
Borough president
Borough President is an elective office in each of the five boroughs of New York City.-Reasons for establishment:...
, Andrew Stein
Andrew Stein
Andrew Stein was a Democratic politician who served on the New York City Council and was its last President, and as Manhattan Borough President. Stein's father is Jerry Finkelstein, the retired multi-millionaire publisher of the New York Law Journal, among other publications...
; for lying to federal investigators about his involvement with Starr's multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme. He was later sentenced to 500 hours of community service.
Personal life
Starr was born to the son of a public school official in the South BronxSouth Bronx
The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of The Bronx. The neighborhoods of Tremont, University Heights, Highbridge, Morrisania, Soundview, Hunts Point, and Castle Hill are sometimes considered part of the South Bronx....
and entered Queens College at age 15.
Starr has been married four times. He and first wife, Gail Starr, have two children: son, Rob Starr, and daughter, Terri Starr.
After divorcing his first wife, he married second wife, Sheila Starr, who was his then-current office manager. Sheila Starr then hired Starr's future third wife, Marisa Vucci Starr, to replace her as office manager.
After divorcing his second wife, Starr was married in 1991 to third wife, Marisa Vucci Starr, Starrco's then-current office manager. While still married to third wife, Marisa, who was by then suffering from advanced multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
, Starr met Diane Passage, a single mother and dancer at the Scores strip club in Manhattan. In 2007, Starr and Marisa divorced; the couple has two daughters.
In 2007, Starr married his fourth wife, Diane Passage, who then stopped working as a stripper at Scores. After her husband's imprisonment in the fall of 2010, Passage filed for divorce in July 2011 claiming she could not wait for the completion of his prison sentence ending in 2016.