By Simone Sebastian
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN FEDERAL COURT — If the brothers of accused Ponzi schemer Kenneth Starr want to spring him from jail, they'll have to put up their own homes as part of a $10 million bond package proposed Tuesday by a Federal judge.
Warren and Stuart Starr will also have to come up with $250,000 cash, and toss in the Florida condominium where Stuart's mother-in-law lives as well as Warren's prized book collection, said Judge Shira Scheindlin. She dismissed an initial $2 million bond package offer from the Starr brothers, which did not include their two primary homes, as not good enough.
"If the brothers really believe in him, if you really don't think your brother will do you wrong, they ought to be happily posting it," Scheindlin said of the brothers' homes. "They should consider posting their primary residence."
Kenneth Starr, 66, has been in federal custody since his May 27 arrest. He is charged with deceiving his wealthy clients — including Uma Thurman and Jacob the Jeweler — and constructing a $59 million Ponzi scheme that functioned like Bernard Madoff's. He was also sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission for civil infractions related to the same fraud.
"All this sounds like excuses," the judge responded. "I don't like this halfway bargaining. Either they believe in this guy or not."
Schneidlin also required that the bond have four signatories — the two Starr brothers, Kenneth Starr's wife, Diane Passage, and charter jet executive Michael Giordano, a friend of Kenneth Starr.
"Understand, if this man isn't the man you think he is ... you people would be taking on a lot of risk," the judge warned Passage and Giordano, who were in the court room.
Warren Starr's book collection is valued at $1.7 million and includes a rare Fifteenth Century manuscript, according to records filed by the defense. Edwards said she was unsure what other books were in Warren Starr's collection except to say that they were very old and that they are "like his children."
During the hearing, Starr smiled and waved at his wife, former Scores stripper Diane Passage. She smiled back. They were allowed to chat briefly before Starr was ushered back into the holding cell room.
Earlier in the week, prosecutors said Passage had fallen on hard times since her husband's arrest and was relying on the charity of others.
