Martin Shkreli Released From Prison Early
Martin Shkreli, the notorious pharmaceutical price-gouger and hedge fund manager whose path has intersected with the music world in surprising and fascinating ways, has been released from prison. Shkreli — who once served as angel investor for a punk-rock record label and feuded with members of the Wu-Tang Clan after purchasing their one-of-a-kind Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, an asset later seized and sold off by the US government — has been serving time on a 2017 fraud conviction. His sentence was seven years, but it looks like he’s out early.
As TMZ reports, today Shkreli was transferred from FCI Allenwood Low in Pennsylvania and will be transferred to a halfway house through the Bureau of Prisons’ NY Residential Reentry Management Office. Shkreli’s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, says his client completed various programs while confined to expedite his release. Although he will be living in a halfway house, this morning he was freely moving about, riding in a car with a guy named Edmund Sullivan. On Twitter, Sullivan posted a photo of himself with Shkreli, writing, “Picked up this guy hitchhiking. Says he’s famous.” It’s unclear whether this is a bit.
On his Facebook page, Shkreli — who was permanently suspended from Twitter in 2017 for targeted harassment of journalist Lauren Duca — posted a photo of himself with the caption “Getting out of real prison is easier than getting out of Twitter prison.” He’s undoubtedly dialing up Elon Musk as we speak.