Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Insider Trading Suspect Runs Away From Paparazzi Barefoot
By
John Del Signore
Published Aug 27, 2014
Modified Aug 27, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Aug 27, 2014
Modified Aug 27, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Can't a white collar criminal accused of insider trading exit court with a modicum of dignity? Nope, not when the Daily News needs refill its trough with more of its scrumptious schadenfreude slop. One of the tabloid's photographer was dutifully stationed outside Manhattan Federal Courthouse yesterday morning to document the departure of one Michael Lucarelli, 51, who had just been arraigned for securities fraud. Lucarelli, it seems, did not want to be subjected to media scrutiny and tried to escape on foot, presumably for our amusement.
Jefferson Siegel deserves a Pulitzer for his sadly evocative photo of a single flip-flop left behind on a Manhattan sidewalk. (And the photo of Lucarelli peeking out from behind the courtroom doors is also priceless.) "He made it about 50 feet before his sandals slipped off," the News reports. "They were still sitting on Worth Street a half-hour after he fled." FREE SANDALS YOU GUYS.
Lucarelli, the Director of Market Intelligence at Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates, Inc., was arrested at his Upper East Side home Monday on charges that he traded on "material nonpublic information for his personal financial gain." Prosecutors say he used information gleaned from draft press releases for LHA clients to conduct illicit trades that raked in about $500,000.
"As alleged, and despite the well-known parade of convicted insider trading perpetrators over the past several years, Michael Lucarelli was not deterred and violated both his company’s policies and his responsibility to its clients by trading on material nonpublic information for his personal financial gain," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.
Lippert/Heilshorn founding partner Keith Lippert insists Lucarelli and his flip-flops aren't representative of his company. "It’s very disconcerting, when you run a company for 30 years that prides itself on its honesty and integrity, and of its employees in dealing with clients’ non-public information, to have to deal with a rogue employee who, despite the firewalls in place and the rules and regulations, obviously completely ignored it for his own selfish gain," Lippert told New York Business Journal.
Tagged
insider trading
Michael Lucarelli
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man shot and killed on Midtown subway platform Saturday afternoon, NYPD says
Police said they're searching for a person of interest.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 17, 2026 at 1:16 p.m. ET
Modified Oct 17, 2026 at 2:04 p.m. ET
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
Suspects were driving a Subaru Forester, police said.
By
Ryan Kost
News
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
Suspects were driving a Subaru Forester, police said.
By
Ryan Kost
Being reigning champions is weird for Knicks fans, but we could get used to this.
By
Catalina Gonella
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
By
Willow Higgins
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
By
Rosemary Misdary
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .