Pimp? Try pauper.
Accused madam Anna Gristina "doesn't have two nickels to rub together," her defense lawyer said today, as prosecutors lashed out at the suspected flesh peddler’s usual bail request.
Gristina, 44, came to court with three attorneys, one of whom -- Peter Gleason -- has offered to put up his own TriBeCa loft as collateral in hopes of freeing the mom of four on $2 million bail bond.
Assistant DA Charles Linehan said his office has “serious concerns” over Gleason’s offer to his own $2.5 million condo on the line as collateral for Gristina’s bail.
It’s unethical,” Linehan said. “There are ethical concerns that come into play here. We definitely oppose this.”
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan put off a decision until Thursday, but said he didn’t immediately want to shoot down Gleason’s remarkable offer.
I don’t believe the law is crystal clear on this point,” Merchan said. “I believe, preliminarily, it is not a per se violation of the ethical rules.”
Gristina is charged with running a multi-million-dollar, high-price call girl ring, and prosecutors say she did so while boasting on secret surveillance tapes of having the protection of members of law enforcement and wealthy clients.
The allegation is that she made over $10 million, possibly $15 million dollars, and that she money 'squirreled away,'" Merchan said, inviting Gristina’s lawyer Gleason to justify her continued access multiple lawyers.
She has a second lawyer, lead lawyer Richard Siracusa, who is taxpayer supported under a program for indigent defendants.
She doesn't have two nickels to rub together, your honor," Gleason countered, noting that prosecutors have produced no evidence of Gristina's so-called hidden hoard.
Merchan responded that Gristina can keep her tax-funded lawyer -- but denied her additional request to interview other prospective lawyers within the program.
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