The New York Post’s Josh Kosman and Len Robbins reported earlier today that Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz have identified hedge fund magnate Steve Cohen as their preferred minority partner. “What Cohen wants he gets,” promised an unidentified Post source. “It’s a trophy to him but not just a trophy. In time, it can be a real asset.” One such asset might be having the first/best shot at acquiring Wilpon’s shares when and if the Bernie Madoff shit hits the fan, but there’s also the not-so-tiny matter of Cohen’s own financial dealings being under Federal investigation. If you’re hungry for dirt on the guy who might well claim several seats in what used to be Jeff Wilpon’s private box, the Wall Street Journal’s Shira Ovide provides some awesome details.
Cohen keeps the SAC trading floor below 70 degrees, so workers aren’t tempted to doze off (they wear fleeces to keep warm). He doesn’t like the cacophony of phones, so he sets them to light up rather than ring when calls are coming in. Job candidates can be put through the mill for more than a year, and be subjected to a background check that — according to Bloomberg Markets magazine — SAC employees joke will dig up the name of a job candidate’s second-grade teacher.
In 2009, Cohen’s ex-wife sued him and claimed he tried to hide assets during their divorce proceedings. Patricia Cohen, who separated from the SAC honcho in 1988, dropped more outlandish allegations in her lawsuit: that Cohen had traded on inside information during the 1980s. Recently a judge threw out the lawsuit altogether.
The case was filled with drama, including the emergence of a tape of Cohen’s 1992 appearance, with his current wife Alex, on a TV talk show to dish dirt about his personal life. The episode of the now-canceled talk show, “Cristina,” was called “He Acts Like Her Husband Too,” and dealt with second wives complaining their husbands can’t rid themselves of their former spouses.