Posted on 08/30/2002 8:06:22 AM PDT by tom paine 2
Martha Stewart is lying low while investigators comb through her personal files, but the rest of the characters caught up in the ImClone insider trading scandal are living it up as if they don't have a care in the world.
Stewart's socially connected Merrill Lynch broker, Peter Bacanovic, at first escaped to England to avoid the media spotlight, but for the past six weeks has been partying away on Fire Island.
The handsome society walker, who loves to escort society's grand dames to balls and charity events, has been "out at Fire Island almost the entire summer," said our source.
Bacanovic even joined in on the exclusive bacchanalian Pines Party on the island two weeks ago. "It's this wild party that goes on all night, and everyone just drinks and dances until the sun comes up," said one veteran Pines partier.
"Peter was there and was just dancing away with no shirt on," said our spywitness. "I left at 5 in the morning and he was still going. He's such a social butterfly."
But apparently all the partying finally took its toll on the blond party animal. Bacanovic - who's on paid leave from Merrill Lynch until the ImClone mess gets sorted out - has headed to the West Coast for a little rest and relaxation.
"I think he went to Los Angeles for a little bit to get away from the spotlight and to relax over Labor Day," our spy added.
Meanwhile, Bacanovic's ex-assistant, Douglas Faneuil, has also been out and about. After hiding out at his parents' place outside Boston, Faneuil returned to New York following his testimony to the Feds, in which he recanted his position that Stewart and Bacanovic had a verbal stop-loss order on the ImClone stock. Last week, Faneuil and his boyfriend, W magazine editor Rob Haskell, showed up at R&B queen Mary J. Blige's concert at the Apollo Theater.
But that's nothing compared to the partying ImClone's ex-honcho Sam Waksal has been doing. Waksal frequents Da Silvano at "least once a week," spies said, and insists on being seated at a prime front table.
Earlier this month Waksal, dressed in a loud Hawaiian shirt, joined three friends at the restaurant and leapt up several times to schmooze with pals seated on the patio outside. "His bill came to $700 and when he tried to pay, his friends wouldn't let him," our snitch says.
Waksal also showed up at a party at Elaine's for "The Cell," a book published by his good pal and "20/20" author John Miller. And apparently unconcerned about his future fortunes, he booked the Chelsea Piers for a huge holiday party in December.
Leni
Martha Stewart also dated a married man, and Sam Waksal - a 60+ year-old man - dated Stewart's daughter while she was still in college.
I can still hear the Clinton apologists' mantra echoing in my mind "a person's sexual morality has nothing to do with their professional ethics".
re.BACANOVIC, yeah your right-FIRE ISLAND, so i've heard, is fulla homo herds; and 'escortin' society women to parties....nuff said.
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