By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN FEDERAL COURT — A former lawyer for Kenneth Starr was arrested on charges he laundered money in the now-disgraced celebrity financial adviser's alleged $30 million Ponzi scheme, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Attorney Jonathan Bristol, a partner at the prestigious Park Avenue law firm Winston & Strawn between November 2008 and May 2010, was listed as Starr's attorney when he was first sued by the SEC and charged by federal prosecutors on May 27, 2009.
But almost immediately after Starr was charged with defrauding his A-list clients, Bristol was gone from the law firm.
Bristol, who was photographed with Starr at a Hamptons party for his ex-stripper wife Diane Passage, was charged Thursday with helping Starr funnel millions in clients' funds to Starr's personal accounts.
He allegedly laundered stolen money for Starr from his clients and provided Starr with enough laundered funds to pay for his $7.5 million Upper East Side penthouse.
"When Starr's clients confronted Bristol about why their money, entrusted to Starr, had been transferred to Bristol’s escrow accounts without their knowledge, Bristol lied to them about the purpose of the transactions," prosecutors said in a statement.
Starr pleaded guilty to wire fraud, money laundering and other charges on Sept. 10. He defrauded famous clients like Uma Thurman and Jacobs "The Jeweler" Arabov.
A civil claim against Bristol was also filed by the SEC, according to reports.
Bristol is expected to be presented in court this afternoon.
