# Martin Shkreli's trial starts today {June 26, 2017} **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 26, 2017, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916 "2017-06-26T14:54:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/1 "2017-06-26T14:54:00Z")
[“Pharma Bro” just won’t keep his mouth shut.](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/APFN_US_MARTIN_SHKRELI_TRIAL_NYOL-?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-06-26-09-15-11) I thought about resurrecting one of the zombie threads, but there were a few of them and I finally decided that we might as well have a new one just for the trial and any aftermath. Of course, it has to be in The BBQ Pit so we can use appropriate descriptors. > [@](#): > > Though Shkreli’s notoriety came from Daraprim, the federal securities fraud case is unrelated. Prosecutors say that after Shkreli lost millions of dollars through bad trades through his side business hedge fund, he looted a second pharmaceutical company for $11 million to pay them back. The defense has argued that he had good intentions. > > “Everybody got paid back in this case,” his lawyer said. “Whatever else he did wrong, he ultimately made them whole.” > [@](#): > > Prosecutors call it a ploy to portray the boyish-looking Shkreli as “a Horatio Alger-like figure who, through hard work and intelligence, is in a position to do great things if only the jury would ignore the evidence and base its verdict on sympathy.” I think that sympathy will be scant once the jury gets a look at stuff like this: > [@](#): > > The government has cited claims by one of Shkreli’s former employees that Shkreli harassed his family in a dispute over shares of stock. > > “I hope to see you and your four children homeless and will do whatever I can to assure this,” Shkreli wrote the employee’s wife, according to court filings. I find myself wondering what that goatfelcher’s smirk will look like with bars in front of it. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_Carlson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc79bd/32.png) [@Not\_Carlson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_Carlson)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/2 "2017-06-26T15:46:05Z")
While that is indeed a satisfying thought to imagine, I’m nevertheless disappointed, only because whenever I see his name for some reason I confuse him with that other punch-me-face shit-stain, James O’Keefe,\* and I was hoping it was him who was finally going to pay the piper. I’m pretty bad with names. \*(Found his name by Googling “douchey conservative fake journalist”.) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/3 "2017-06-26T16:02:49Z")
Mr. O’Keefe already has a misdemeanor conviction for entering a federal building under false pretenses back in 2010. I was upset at the time that the prosecutor allowed the plea deal (and I haven’t changed my mind about that in the ensuing years). But Mr. Shkreli has yet to be convicted, and as far as I know there is no plea deal in the works. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/4 "2017-06-26T16:15:47Z")
In a fight between a M1A2 tank and Martin Shkreli, how much would you pay to watch? And could we have James O’Keefe fight an aircraft carrier afterwards? ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/5 "2017-06-26T16:53:08Z")
Horatio Alger’s heroes didn’t succeed only by hard work and intelligence. They were also honest, trustworthy, and courageous. Shkreli is none of these. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/6 "2017-06-26T17:09:09Z")
Hope he ends up in prison for life, like the founder of The Silk Road. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/7 "2017-06-26T18:02:35Z")
I do see a contempt of court charge in his near future. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/8 "2017-06-26T20:29:34Z")
[Shkreli’s Jury Pool Calls Him ‘an Evil Man’ and ‘a Snake’](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-26/shkreli-meets-potential-juror-for-trial-who-sees-a-snake) They may have to relocate the trial to Lancaster, PA to find a jury pool that hasn’t heard of him. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/9 "2017-06-26T21:51:14Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > … I find myself wondering what that goatfelcher’s smirk will look like with bars in front of it. I hope they crucify him. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/10 "2017-06-26T21:52:21Z")
> [@Not\_Carlson](#): > > While that is indeed a satisfying thought to imagine, I’m nevertheless disappointed, only because whenever I see his name for some reason I confuse him with that other punch-me-face shit-stain, James O’Keefe,\* and I was hoping it was him who was finally going to pay the piper. > > I’m pretty bad with names. > > \*(Found his name by Googling “douchey conservative fake journalist”.) I wish lots of bad things for him too. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/11 "2017-06-26T22:08:08Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > [Shkreli’s Jury Pool Calls Him ‘an Evil Man’ and ‘a Snake’](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-26/shkreli-meets-potential-juror-for-trial-who-sees-a-snake) > > They may have to relocate the trial to Lancaster, PA to find a jury pool that hasn’t heard of him. The case is U.S. v. Shkreli, 15-cr-00637, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn), as per that link. Thanks **Projammer**. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/12 "2017-06-26T22:17:16Z")
Unless he can be sentenced to a lifetime of neverending face punches, justice will never be served. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/13 "2017-06-27T03:46:24Z")
Well, depending on how they sentence him, assuming he is found guilty, he’s looking at a very long jail sentence. How do you think that is going to go for him? He’s 34. If he serves a mere 20 years, he’ll be 54 when he gets out and a convicted felon. He certainly won’t be running companies or involved in the securities industry. So I don’t think I have to wish grievous bodily harm on him. All I have to wish is that he is convicted of most of the charges (5 at 20 years, 3 at 5? Something like that) and gets a solid 20-30+ year sentence. That will do nicely. Do you think he’ll be making that smirk in prison? ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/14 "2017-06-27T04:34:15Z")
> [@peedin](#): > > Hope he ends up in prison for life, like the founder of The Silk Road. Must you insult Ross Ulbricht like that? He doesn’t deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Shkreli. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/15 "2017-06-27T07:10:53Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Do you think he’ll be making that smirk in prison? My guess is that the fucker is smarter than we think…and will not go to prison. He’ll flee to South America somewhere and live the high life in a mansion with hookers and blow. And he’ll proudly smirk at us all on Facebook. But if we get lucky, and he actually does get imprisoned, we need new rules for the judge. When setting the sentence, there should be an option for the judge to order the prison warden that the prisioner must be kept in specific conditions: And the conditions should be that that Shkreil be kept as the only white prisoner in the wing where they house all the worst, most violent, gang members. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/16 "2017-06-27T15:44:37Z")
With no wi-fi. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/17 "2017-06-27T17:29:40Z")
> [@digs](#): > > With no wi-fi. Let’s not get carried away with the cruel and unusual punishments here. I’ll be the first to label him as a slime of the lowest order, but there are limits. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/18 "2017-06-27T18:12:39Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > My guess is that the fucker is smarter than we think…and will not go to prison. > He’ll flee to South America somewhere and live the high life in a mansion with hookers and blow. Any competent DA would have him tagged as a flight risk and already pulled his passport. So maybe. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/19 "2017-06-27T18:16:15Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > My guess is that the fucker is smarter than we think…and will not go to prison. > He’ll flee to South America somewhere and live the high life in a mansion with hookers and blow. > > And he’ll proudly smirk at us all on Facebook. In which case I sincerely hope someone he screwed over can afford to send hit men down after him (I’m NOT joking). ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/20 "2017-06-27T18:34:09Z")
Shkreli was targeted by the government for reasons unrelated to the actual charges against him. They went on a fishing expedition and found something. Let’s be clear: he’s really facing jail for raising drug prices so high. If the feds want you, they’ll get you for something. Everyone does something illegal, and they don’t always even know about it. If you are in business, you’re almost certainly committing several violations a day. The more complex the business, the more violations. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916.md?page=2)