‘Hottest Information’
Both sides mentioned Mickelson in their opening statements with prosecutor Michael Ferrara saying that Walters passed the stock tip to the golfer because he knew he “had the hottest information in town.’’
Berke, the defense lawyer, countered that his client was a skilled investor who would have known better than to share insider tips with a celebrity, likening it to a bank robber stopping to ask a policeman for directions after a heist.
"If you’re Bill Walters and you believe someone is giving you illicit inside information, the last thing you’d do is give it to Phil Mickelson, one of the most famous athletes in the world who is going to attract regulatory scrutiny,” Berke told the jury.
Berke made the comments about Mickelson pleading the fifth during a conference with U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel outside of the presence of the jury on March 13, the first day of Walters’s trial. Bloomberg News on Friday obtained a transcript of the discussion, in which prosecutors indicated they were unlikely to call Mickelson.
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Mickelson has been dogged by the case since it first burst into public view three years ago with press reports about the U.S. investigation. Mickelson was featured prominently in the news reports.
When prosecutors announced the case against Walters in May 2016, the government made no allegation that the golfer knew the trades were based on illicit information. Mickelson “is innocent of any wrongdoing,” his lawyer, Gregory Craig, said at the time. “Phil was an innocent bystander to alleged wrongdoing by others that he was unaware of.”
During the trial, Davis, the government’s star witness, told jurors that Walters introduced him to Mickelson and that the golfer and the gambler were members both of the Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club in California.
"They appeared to be good friends," said Davis, who has pleaded guilty and is testifying in exchange for leniency. "I’m basing it on what I learned from Mr. Walters, and also on the occasion when I met Phil Mickelson. Billy introduced me to him on the practice tee."
In exchange for illegal stock tips, Walters is accused of helping Davis, his golfing and business pal, by lending him almost $1 million, prosecutors said. Davis had gotten into financial straits with his luxurious lifestyle and gambling habit.