(RoyalPatriot.com )- Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of the now-defunct FTX cryptocurrency exchange, hired Ghislaine Maxwell’s private investigator, according to National File. Former New York Police Department (NYPD) detective, Jimmy Harkins, was hired by Maxwell in 2021.
Bankman-Fried is charged with eight counts of financial fraud and has recently been released on a $250 million bail while awaiting his trial.
Harkins reportedly has a good reputation for being a private investigator. He was at the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse of the SDNY in Manhattan, New York in December 2021 during Maxwell’s trial.
Ira Judelson, a “famed” New York bail bondsman, reportedly said that Harkins is “the best at what he does.” Judelson said that Harkins is hands-on and has connections to ex-law enforcement and serving law enforcement.
“He’s very highly respected plus he’s a street guy who can get people on the street to talk to him,” Judelson added, noting that with different firms the work is usually farmed out to other people, but that Harkins is always directly involved in the case.
“I trust him completely,” he said.
Harkins has reportedly worked with high-profile clients, including former NYPD psychologist Dr. Emily Dearden, who was facing charges for murdering her husband to hide her divorce and infidelity. He also worked with former NYPD Deputy Chief Michael Harrington and former NYPD Deputy Inspector James Grant who were charged with receiving illegal bribes.
In one major case, Harkins helped Michael Coppola, also known as Mikey Cigars, who was a Genovese crime family member, win his case where he was being charged with murdering Johnny Lardiere in 1997. He reportedly found a dusty guest ledger in the hotel room in which the crime took place that would eventually prevent Coppola from being convicted.
Harkins made appearances as a police officer in the Martin Scorsese film “The Irishman” and The Sopranos’ prequel “The Mainy Saints of Newark.”
