MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT — A woman charged stalking and trying to extort $15,000 from Yankees general manager Brian Cashman by demanding he pay for a medical procedure has agreed to a postponement of a felony indictment in her criminal case.
Louise Neathway, 36, whose lawyer said also goes by the surname Meanwell, has a history of stalking and harassing arrests in various states, authorities said. She appeared in court Tuesday wearing her blonde hair neatly styled and dressed in a dark pantsuit. She consented to a delay of her grand jury indictment so that prosecutors and her attorneys could further explore the facts of the case, her attorney Alan Abramson said.
Had Neathway not agreed to the delay, prosecutors would have needed to obtain an indictment by Tuesday or be forced to release her from jail without bail.
"We're taking this opportunity to find out as many facts as we possibly can," Abramson said of the postponement.
Neathway, who was arraigned in court on Feb. 2, has claimed she was dating Cashman, whose wife reportedly filed for divorce last week.
Neathway allegedly wanted Cashman pay for a medical procedure, the exact nature of which was not revealed by prosecutors. Prosecutors say she bombarded Cashman with text messages and threats, and claimed she would ruin his personal life and reputation.
Cashman sent her $6,000 but contacted authorities when she increased her demand to $15,000 for the procedure and continued sending him threats, according to court papers.
Neathway is being held at Rikers Island on $300,000 bond or $200,000 cash bail.
Prosecutors have also reopened the misdemeanor harassment case against Neathway, in which she was charged with sending a deluge of text messages to an East Village man under the surname Meanwell. That case was set to be dismissed on Feb. 16, but her rearrest in the Cashman case meant she violated the terms of the dismissal agreement.
Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Alexander Tisch ordered her to stay away from the East Village resident, Thomas Walsh.
Last week Neathway was ordered to stay away from Cashman, his family and Kim Brennan, a woman who is reportedly also romantically linked to the longtime Yankees general manager. On Tuesday she was further ordered to stay away from three of Brennan's relatives.
Neathway is due back in court on Feb. 21.
