Kenneth I. Starr

Kenneth Ira Starr (born 1943/1944) is an American accountant and former money manager convicted of running a $35 million Ponzi scheme with the money of numerous wealthy and celebrity clients. Starr was given a seven and a half year sentence in 2011.

Early life and education Starr was the youngest of three sons born to a public-school principal in the South Bronx. He entered Queens College at the age of fifteen. He is Jewish. for the kind of clients he attracted, the breach of trust, and his notoriety.

Starr's financial and legal problems began to surface in the late-1990s after he was sued by Sylvester Stallone in connection with the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain and Starr's alleged role in Stallone's $10 million loss. As his financial world began to crumble, Starr's then-wife, Marisa Vucci Starr, resigned as Starrco's office manager. When authorities went to arrest him, they found him hiding in a closet at the very upscale Manhattan apartment he purchased and lavishly furnished from stolen funds.

At a bail hearing in July 2010, Starr's bail was set at $10 million, but none among his wealthy family and friends, alone or in collaboration, would agree to post bond. At sentencing, Scheindlin specifically named Diane Passage as an immoral influence on Starr.

The investigation of Starr led to the arrest 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 multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. Stein was later sentenced to 500 hours of community service for misdemeanor tax evasion.

Personal life Starr has been married four times. He and first wife, Gail Starr, have two estranged children: son, Ron Starr (who aided in the prosecution of his father), and daughter, Terri Starr. In 2007, Starr and Marisa divorced.

In 2007, Starr married his fourth wife, Passage, who had stopped working as a stripper after they met. Starr was eager to satisfy her financially.