Larry Stewart

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Larry Stewart, a millionaire who became known as Secret Santa for his habit of roaming the streets each December and anonymously handing money to people, died Friday. He was 58. Mr. Stewart died from complications from esophageal cancer, said Tom Phillips, a longtime friend and sheriff of Jackson County. Mr. Stewart, who spent 26 years giving a total $1.3 million, gained international attention in November when he revealed himself as Secret Santa. He was diagnosed in April with cancer and said he wanted to use his celebrity to inspire other people...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Susan Dahl had spent four months homeless in Colorado and just been on a harrowing 10-hour bus trip through sleet and snow. Hungry and broke, all she wanted to do was get back to family in Minnesota. That's when a tall man in a red coat and red hat sat next to her at the downtown bus station, talked to her quietly, and then slipped her $100 on that recent December afternoon. The man was doing the work of Larry Stewart, Kansas City's original Secret Santa who anonymously wandered city streets doling out $100 bills to anyone who looked like they needed it. Stewart died of...

NEW YORK -- A Secret Service ink expert pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges that he lied repeatedly while testifying for the prosecution at the Martha Stewart trial. The perjury charges are the basis for new-trial motions filed last week by Martha Stewart and former stockbroker Peter Bacanovic, who were convicted in March of lying about a stock sale. The plea by ink expert Larry Stewart came in a brief hearing in federal court. His trial was set for Sept. 20. Larry Stewart, who is not related to Martha Stewart, testified that multiple inks were used on a worksheet prepared...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Larry Stewart, a millionaire who became known as Secret Santa for his habit of roaming the streets each December and anonymously handing money to people, died Friday. He was 58. Mr. Stewart died from complications from esophageal cancer, said Tom Phillips, a longtime friend and sheriff of Jackson County. Mr. Stewart, who spent 26 years giving a total $1.3 million, gained international attention in November when he revealed himself as Secret Santa. He was diagnosed in April with cancer and said he wanted to use his celebrity to inspire other people...

NEW YORK -- Martha Stewart asked a judge yesterday to grant her a new trial, citing charges that a government witness at her first trial lied repeatedly on the stand. The request, considered a long shot by legal experts, came four weeks before Stewart and former stockbroker Peter Bacanovic are to be sentenced for lying about a well-timed stock sale by the celebrity homemaker in 2001. The motion argues that the conviction is tainted by newly unveiled perjury charges against Larry Stewart, a Secret Service laboratory director who was called as an expert witness at the trial in February.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Susan Dahl had spent four months homeless in Colorado and just been on a harrowing 10-hour bus trip through sleet and snow. Hungry and broke, all she wanted to do was get back to family in Minnesota. That's when a tall man in a red coat and red hat sat next to her at the downtown bus station, talked to her quietly, and then slipped her $100 on that recent December afternoon. The man was doing the work of Larry Stewart, Kansas City's original Secret Santa who anonymously wandered city streets doling out $100 bills to anyone who looked like they needed it....

NEW YORK -- A federal judge refused yesterday to grant Martha Stewart a new trial, paving the way for the celebrity homemaker to be sentenced next week for lying about a stock sale. Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum brushed aside claims by Stewart and her former stockbroker that their convictions are tainted by charges that a Secret Service ink expert lied on the witness stand. "Because there is no reasonable likelihood that this perjury could have affected the jury's verdict, and because overwhelming independent evidence supports the verdict, the motions are...

NEW YORK -- A Secret Service ink expert who testified for the government at the Martha Stewart trial was charged yesterday with lying repeatedly on the stand. Lawyers for a stockbroker convicted with Stewart called for a new trial. Stewart's attorneys said the perjury charges cast new doubt on the government's case against the domestic entrepreneur. Prosecutors insisted the charges did not undermine the convictions of Stewart or her former broker, Peter Bacanovic. The expert, Larry F. Stewart, was called by the government to discuss ink used on a...

NEW YORK -- A federal judge has delayed the sentencing of Martha Stewart until next month, giving her lawyers time to prepare new legal papers aimed at winning her a new trial. Sentencing for Stewart and former stockbroker Peter Bacanovic, originally set for June 17, was rescheduled for July 8. The decision, made by the judge Friday, was confirmed yesterday by prosecutors and defense lawyers. Lawyers for Stewart asked for the three-week delay so they could draw up a motion arguing for a new trial after a prosecution ink expert was charged last month with lying on the witness...

NEW YORK -- Just days after selling her ImClone Systems stock, Martha Stewart said she knew that ImClone CEO Sam Waksal had been trying to dump his shares in the company, a close friend of Stewart testified yesterday. The revelation by Mariana Pasternak, a friend of Stewart for more than 20 years, was perhaps the most damaging testimony yet against Stewart, who claims she sold the stock for an entirely different reason. Pasternak said Stewart told her about the Waksal sale on Dec. 30, 2001, just three days after Stewart sold her 3,928 shares of ImClone.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- For 26 years, a man known only as Secret Santa has roamed the streets every December quietly giving people money. He started with $5 and $10 bills. As his fortune grew, so did the gifts. In recent years, Secret Santa has been handing out $100 bills, sometimes two or three at a time, to people in thrift stores, diners, and parking lots. So far, he's anonymously given out about $1.3 million. It's been a long-held holiday mystery: Who is Secret Santa? But now, weak from chemotherapy and armed with a desire to pass on his belief in random kindness, Secret Santa has decided...

NEW YORK -- An ink expert who testified for the government at the Martha Stewart trial was found not guilty yesterday of lying on the witness stand. A federal jury in Manhattan deliberated about seven hours over two days before acquitting Secret Service scientist Larry Stewart -- no relation to the millionaire homemaking and media mogul -- of two counts of perjury. "Mr. Stewart, good luck to you," US District Judge Denny Chin told Stewart. The scientist appeared to lose color in his face as the verdict was read, and hugged his lawyers when...

NEW YORK -- A federal judge refused yesterday to grant Martha Stewart a new trial, paving the way for the celebrity homemaker to be sentenced next week for lying about a stock sale. Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum brushed aside claims by Stewart and her former stockbroker that their convictions are tainted by charges that a Secret Service ink expert lied on the witness stand. "Because there is no reasonable likelihood that this perjury could have affected the jury's verdict, and because overwhelming independent evidence supports the verdict, the motions are denied," Cedarbaum wrote.

NEW YORK -- Martha Stewart asked a judge yesterday to grant her a new trial, citing charges that a government witness at her first trial lied repeatedly on the stand. The request, considered a long shot by legal experts, came four weeks before Stewart and former stockbroker Peter Bacanovic are to be sentenced for lying about a well-timed stock sale by the celebrity homemaker in 2001. The motion argues that the conviction is tainted by newly unveiled perjury charges against Larry Stewart, a Secret Service laboratory director who was called as an expert witness at the trial...

NEW YORK -- A federal judge has delayed the sentencing of Martha Stewart until next month, giving her lawyers time to prepare new legal papers aimed at winning her a new trial. Sentencing for Stewart and former stockbroker Peter Bacanovic, originally set for June 17, was rescheduled for July 8. The decision, made by the judge Friday, was confirmed yesterday by prosecutors and defense lawyers. Lawyers for Stewart asked for the three-week delay so they could draw up a motion arguing for a new trial after a prosecution ink expert was charged last month with lying on the witness...

NEW YORK -- A Secret Service ink expert who testified for the government at the Martha Stewart trial was charged yesterday with lying repeatedly on the stand. Lawyers for a stockbroker convicted with Stewart called for a new trial. Stewart's attorneys said the perjury charges cast new doubt on the government's case against the domestic entrepreneur. Prosecutors insisted the charges did not undermine the convictions of Stewart or her former broker, Peter Bacanovic. The expert, Larry F. Stewart, was called by the government to discuss ink used on a...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- For 26 years, a man known only as Secret Santa has roamed the streets every December quietly giving people money. He started with $5 and $10 bills. As his fortune grew, so did the gifts. In recent years, Secret Santa has been handing out $100 bills, sometimes two or three at a time, to people in thrift stores, diners, and parking lots. So far, he's anonymously given out about $1.3 million. It's been a long-held holiday mystery: Who is Secret Santa? But now, weak from chemotherapy and armed with a desire to pass on his belief in random kindness, Secret Santa has decided...