MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT — A petite blond medical saleswoman from TriBeCa with a multi-state arrest record has been charged with stalking, harassing and extorting Yankees general manager Brian Cashman as part of a "long-term" scheme to score $15,000 for a medical procedure, prosecutors said Thursday.
British native Louise Neathway, 36, who also goes by the surname Meanwell, claims she had a romantic relationship with the ball club's executive and threatened to "damage his personal relationships and professional reputation," should he not pay for the procedure, according to the criminal complaint.
Neathway, who has a 14-year-old daughter, was taken into custody by investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney's office at her Leonard Street apartment on Wednesday for what prosecutors described as a campaign to "control" the prominent Yankees official.
"The case before you is a long-term effort to control and manipulate the victim. It's not the first time that has occurred," Assistant District Attorney Eric Iverson said at Neathway's arraignment Thursday night.
Cashman, who lives in Connecticut, has a wife and two young children and has been with the Yankees for more than two decades.
Neathway was ordered by Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Abraham Clott to stay away from Cashman and his family and other individuals whose connection to the case is not clear.
The petite blond faces multiple criminal counts of grand larceny, harassment and stalking as well as grand larceny for allegedly trying to extort thousands from the long-time Bombers official.
Although Cashman gave her $6,000 in two separate transactions on Jan. 18, Neathway began sending him a barrage of emails on Monday, demanding that he fork over $15,000 for the unspecified medical work.
Prosecutors said Neathway is on probation for a stalking case in New Jersey in which she spent years harassing a man, sometimes by sending 200 text messages in a weekend, harassing his family and visiting the man's vacation home and mother's house.
During the court proceeding Neathway made faces and seemed amused at times, smiling and chatting with investigators and lawyers, her long hair tied up in a bun. Her mother, who her lawyers described as a businesswoman for a major company, was seated in the gallery.
Her attorneys, Stephen McCarthy and Alan Abramson, said the situation was being mischaracterized by the DA's office and the charges.
"What you have is a married man who has an inappropriate relationship with a single mother here in New York City and it ends badly," McCarthy argued at the arraignment.
The DA's office has "bought [Cashman's] account hook line and sinker" but there are "a dozen witnesses" that could put the case "in absolute and complete jeopardy," McCarthy added.
According to to prosecutors, Neathway has several arrests dating back to 1998 for stalking, harassment and trespass in North Carolina, New Jersey and New York. She also has two open arrest warrants in the Albany area relating to her ex-husband.
Neathway, who has been in medical sales for nine years, was arrested last year on charges she harassed an East Village man she was dating and received a conditional dismissal deal if she stayed away from him.
A rep for Cashman would not comment on Neathway's claim that she was dating him on Thursday but said he was glad the matter is being resolved.
"Brian is very grateful that this matter is in the hands of law enforcement," the rep said in a statement on Thursday.
The Yankees did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment.
