The Barrett Wissman/IMG scandal becomes increasingly more and more lollersome, reports the WSJ:
For Barrett Wissman, life as an admitted felon is looking better by the day.
Yesterday, Deal Journal detailed the hedge fund manager’s recent sojourn to the Tuscan Festival Del Sole, an annual musical festival that he co-founded with his wife. Wissman has pleaded guilty for his role in an alleged pay-to-play scheme involving the New York state pension fund and has agreed to cooperate as New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s key witness in the case. The former chairman of IMG Artists, which represents classical musicians, Wissman also agreed to pay a $12 million penalty.
It seems that in addition to enjoying the beautiful classical music and hobnobbing with actors like Anthony Hopkins at the festival, Wissman also found time to enjoy plenty of fine Italian wine.
Seriously, if the -- undeniably appalling -- Italian legal system had pulled a stunt like that, we'd all be laughing our self-righteous American asses off at the expense of that distant banana republic.
(Oh, and personally, with that Chianina burger, Opera Chic would have served instead of that Merlot a Barbaresco Gaja 2005, or, if on a budget -- not Wissmann's case, O.K., a Nebbiolo Martinenga 2004).