-Caveat Lector- Accused Banker Dresses As a Woman By MITCH STACY .c The Associated Press LONDON (AP) -- The former banker turned up for court dressed in a coral blouse, form-hugging red skirt and black heels, the picture of femininity and urban fashion sense. After a pause and a coy smile for waiting photographers, Peter Young went inside to face the judge. The former fund manager -- for the record, he is a man -- is charged with fraud in one of the most sensational scandals to emerge from London's financial district in years. Now, Young's cross-dressing has investigators speculating he's trying to pull a ruse to raise questions about his mental health. Some have dubbed it ``the Klinger defense,'' in a nod to the ``M A S H'' TV series character, Cpl. Klinger, who dressed like a woman to try to get out of the Army. Young and his lawyers have refused to talk about his newfound fashion sense during court appearances last month and in November, and have not revealed what his defense will be. However, former colleagues and acquaintances recall Young, 41, as a quiet, intellectual banker and family man whose conventional dark suits and ties were anything but flashy. If Young is ruled mentally ill by the court, he could get off with a lighter sentence and a more comfortable place to do his time is he is convicted. He is charged with five counts of criminal fraud and if convicted, faces up to seven years in prison. Young's estranged wife, Harmanna Van Dalen, insists the get-up is not a fake, saying their marriage broke up because of his tendency to dress like a woman and that he has talked about having a sex-change operation. Their two young sons, she told the Daily Telegraph newspaper, were ``generally unaware of the situation.'' At his first court appearance in November, Young wore a light brown sweater with a pattern of violet and blue pansies over a white dress with a floral print. He had a shoulder-length dark bob, wore beige shoes with two-inch heels and carried a coral raffia-weave handbag. Last month, he wore the tight-fitting skirt and blouse number. The charges against Young stem from activities between 1994 and 1996, when Young worked for the Morgan Grenfell Asset Management unit of Germany's Deutsche Bank AG. He is charged along with three other men, former employees of Fiba Nordic Securities, a London-based brokerage firm. Prosecutors say Young got into trouble by filling three big investment funds with obscure stocks that were of uncertain value because they were not traded on any exchange. Morgan Grenfell then vastly overestimated the value of the funds, and when investors learned about the irregularities they began panic-selling in September 1996. Trading in the funds was halted for three days and resumed only after Deutsche Bank paid $293 million to buy some of the questionable stocks and bring the funds into compliance with London regulations. Morgan Grenfell eventually was fined a record $3.25 million and had to repay $325 million to investors. Young remains free on bond while he awaits trial, which has not yet been scheduled. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
