NEW YORK (AP) – A professional gambler linked to golfer Phil Mickelson in an insider trading scandal pleaded not guilty and had his bail set at $25 million on Wednesday after a prosecutor said he was worth about $200 million and was a high risk to flee.
Over government objections, a Manhattan federal magistrate judge said William Walters can keep flying in his personal jet, though another judge later said the Pretrial Services office in the courthouse can force him to take commercial flights if it wishes. Walters has pleaded not guilty to charges he made tens of millions of dollars in illicit stock trades.
Magistrate Judge Andrew Peck rejected arguments by a prosecutor who said Walters could easily fly to Mexico if not restricted to commercial travel. He required two of Walters’ pilots to agree they’d owe $1 million if Walters flees on their planes.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brooke Cucinella said Walters, 69, is a “person who believes he is above the law.”
She said his net worth was about $200 million and he has earned $30 million annually for the past three years and about $40 million annually for each year in the decade before that.