from bloggingstocks.com:
The Seth Tobias affair: Hedge funds, gay bars, cocaine, drowning and a lucrative will
Posted Dec 4th 2007 11:15AM by Peter Cohan
Filed under: American Express (AXP), Goldman Sachs Group (GS)
The New York Times reports that former hedge fund manager and CNBC commentator Seth Tobias left quite a lurid tale before he allegedly drowned in his Jupiter, FL., pool in September. Tobias' wife has been accused of murdering her husband, while his brothers are the beneficiaries of a disputed will.
Before getting into the details, this story has a distant connection to BloggingStocks. After all, blogger and Mad Money Host Jim Cramer was Seth Tobias' boss at Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS). As Cramer said: "I don't understand why this hasn't ended up on CSI: Miami yet."
Here are the key details:
Hedge fund and CNBC host. Tobias ran a $300 million hedge fund called Circle T out of offices near Palm Beach's Breaker's Hotel and was a commentator on CNBC's Kudlow & Company -- hosted by Larry Kudlow, a former cocaine addict and partner of Cramer's on CNBC who would be a good fit alongside Fox's Bill O'Reilly.
Gay bar. Tobias was known to frequent a gay bar called Cupids in West Palm Beach where he met a go-go dancer named Tiger who "is blond and covered with tattoos that look like stripes."
Big spender. Tobias made, and spent, millions of dollars a year. Outstanding expenses at the time of his death included $52,532 on his American Express (NYSE: AXP) Centurion Black Card, and his mortgage payment for one of his homes was $35,000 a month.
War over will. Tobias' brothers are the beneficiaries of his will and have accused Tobias' wife of one year -- Filomena Tobias, who was seeking a divorce alleging Tobias had "an adulterous affair" and that he "gambled away tens of thousands of dollars and used other funds on illicit habits" -- of luring Tobias to take cocaine, and then dive into the family swimming pool. At the pool police found a Ziploc bag with a white powdery substance and a small baggie and a straw, as well as two empty plastic prescription bottles.
Wife's confession? Tobias' wife reportedly confessed to murdering her husband, according to a tape from Bill Ash, a former Tobias assistant, who has been arrested at least 11 times on charges ranging from larceny to prostitution.
There may be a writer's strike on, but it looks to me like this story could write itself into a great movie.
Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in American Express and Goldman Sachs securities.
