David Brooks, a man who hired Tom Petty and Aerosmith to perform at his daughter's bat mitzvah, was convicted Tuesday (9/14) on 17 counts following a trial that charged him with securities and mail fraud, insider trading and obstruction of justice.  Brooks, who headed DHB Industries, an enterprise that supplied body armor to US military branches, was accused of using $6 million of company funds to underwrite his lavish lifestyle, including the 2005 bash in the Rainbow Room in New York City for his daughter's bat mitzvah that Aerosmith, Tom Petty and the rapper 50 Cent were booked to appear at. Prosecutors charged that Brooks, who surrounded himself with extravagant gifts bought at the expense of taxpayers and investors, also engaged in a scheme to defraud investors by plotting with his former CEO to pump up DHB's stock value by overstating the company's financial state.  Brooks and the woman cashed out to the tune of nearly $200 million each after the stock had increased from around $2 a share to almost $20. The subsequent collapse of the stock cleaned out investors.  Brooks reportedly faces a potential life sentence on the multiple convictions.  Too bad they don't allow belts in the joint - he'll have to leave behind the $100,000 diamond encrusted American flag belt buckle he liked to show-off.
NYPost.com