One week out of Rikers, and the accused shake-down mistress of Yankees GM Brian Cashman has gone from frumpy to fabulous.
Louise Meanwell came to Manhattan Supreme Court today in heels and a silver pantsuit, looking trim and rested. Her hair was loose and her face meticulously made up.
Gone are the bulky cardigans, dark hair roots, slouched posture and ghostly pale countenance of her prior court appearances.
“A week home with my mother!” Meanwell, who also goes by the last name Neathway, explained of her new look as she left court after a brief court appearance today. Meanwell has been staying with her mom, Caroline Meanwell, in the Hunterdon County NJ townhouse of the mom’s boyfriend.
The buxom blonde is charged with threatening to expose her brief affair with Cashman if he didn’t divorce his wife and give her thousands of dollars for what prosecutors call a string of fictitious medical treatments involving a fabricated abortion.
Meanwell told Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Rena Uviller she wished to be called “Neathway.” The alleged stalker had spent five months in jail before finally posting a $300,000 bond. She is additionally charged with harassing or otherwise bothering four other people: the GM’s other ex-mistress and his estranged wife, along with Meanwell’s own ex-husband and ex-boyfriend.
Her lawyer, Lawrence LaBrew, has until July 30 to file his first batch of pretrial motions, these asking for any remaining evidence that must be turned over to the defense. Uviller advised the lawyer that any defense investigators who contact prosecution witnesses on Meanwell’s behalf clearly identify themselves as working for the defense.
The parties return Sept. 6.
“She’s relaxed — very, very relaxed — and focused, so things are going well,” the mom told reporters. “Five months at Rikers will make anyone look like hell.”