He calls himself the Weed Man, and he has become a familiar presence in Times Square, standing near Planet Hollywood and holding aloft a placard that stands out even in this part of the city. “Help!” the sign, in green letters, reads. “I Need Money for Weed!” The man, Joshua Long, has become a favorite of some tourists who pose for pictures with him and stuff dollar bills into his hand. But some police officers in Midtown have taken a dim view of his entrepreneurial spirit and, perhaps, the words that further it; they have arrested him several times while he was displaying his placard. Once, he said, officers told him he was not welcome on Broadway because they objected to his message. When he asked those officers to identify themselves, he said, they replied by arresting him. In July, Mr. Long sued the city and several police officers in Federal District Court in Manhattan, saying that he had been subject to illegal harassment and arrests “while lawfully begging and promoting marijuana tolerance.” On Monday, Judge Shira A. Scheindlin approved a stipulation in which the city agreed that the police would use their “best efforts” not to roust Mr. Long or arrest him without cause. The agreement does not end Mr. Long’s suit, in which he is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and lawyers’ fees. A spokesman for the Police Department did not respond to a request for comment. Mr. Long, 30, a Navy veteran from North Carolina, began displaying his weed sign last year, roving from 14th Street to Central Park, but soon settled upon Times Square as the most fertile ground. He has estimated that he could earn about $200 during a four- or five-hour shift. [NYT via Gawker]
Nasdaq Fancies Itself Too Good For Weed
The stock exchange operator apparently has little interest in opening its doors to a "cannabis social networking company."
In Retrospect, BofA Executive Probably Regrets Using Schoolyard Justice On Topless Women In Times Square
Mark Walters maybe took things too far.
Deutsche Bank Managing Director, LAPD Not Yet Seeing Eye To Eye On Savage Beating "Incident"
Yesterday afternoon, Deutsche Bank vice chairman and managing director Brian Mulligan filed a claim with the city of Los Angeles, letting it be known that he plans on suing for $50 million, over an altercation with the LAPD that left Mulligan with "a broken shoulder blade and 15 nasal fractures." According to the media banker, he was minding his own business one night in May, when a couple of officers approached him, asked him what he was doing in the vicinity of a marijuana dispensary, searched his car (where they found a few thousand dollars), drove him to a motel and told him to wait there. Several hours later, still waiting, Mulligan says he started to become suspicious and decided to leave, at which point the officers returned and "began ruthlessly beating him" so badly he "barely looked human" when they were done. If this had happened to you, you might be a little upset too! The LAPD, however, claims that Mulligan has no reason to be angry with them and, in fact, owes the officers an apology, for his "outburst of erratic behavior." The police version begins with a complaint about a man going through cars in a Jack-in-the-Box in the Highland Park area, according to LAPD Officer Cleon Joseph. Moments later, a second call came from another person about a man in the same area who appeared to be on drugs and trying to break into cars...The officers determined Mulligan matched the description of the suspect, but a police drug recognition expert determined he was not under the influence of drugs. Joseph said he could not clarify whether that included alcohol. Officers then searched Mulligan's car and found thousands of dollars, Joseph said. Mulligan told the officers that he was exhausted, so the officers agreed to transport him to a motel, Joseph said. But first, they had to count the executive's cash to make sure it was all still there after they transported him to the hotel, Joseph explained. The officers gave Mulligan's money back to him, drove him to the motel and left him, concluding their response, Joseph said. A few hours later, at about 1 a.m., police received another call from the same area, this time about a man running in traffic. Officers observed Mulligan in the street, Joseph said. He defied officers' orders to get out of the street, and instead went into a fighting stance and charged at the officers, according to Joseph. Officers tackled Mulligan and took control of him, Joseph said. During the take-down, the executive sustained injuries that required hospitalization. Police reported the incident as a categorical use of force and are conducting a standard investigation to determine if the force was necessary. Mulligan was charged with resisting arrest and interfering with law enforcement. He was booked on $25,000 bail and was released from jail on May 18. Despite Mulligan acting in such a way that some people thought required "force" to deal with, a spokesman for the LA County DA's office said that there are no plans to file criminal charges and that the office would simply like to "have a discussion with him and advise him on how best to follow the law so that incidents like this don’t occur again." Brian Mulligan, Deutsche Bank Executive, Says He'll Sue LAPD Alleging Captive Beating [HP] Deutsche Bank Top Hollywood Banker Claims Police Beating [Bloomberg]
If You've Been Thinking About Starting A Hedge Fund That Invests Exclusively In Show Dog Semen, Your Moment Has Arrived
It's the latest emerging market, according to Bloomberg.