NEW YORK, Oct. 30 -- An investment banker must undergo evaluation by a substance abuse program and stay out of the skies after he allegedly went berserk on a United Airlines flight, a federal magistrate ruled Monday. U.S. Magistrate Joan Azrack of Brooklyn granted federal prosecutors' request to amend the terms of Gerard Finneran's bail. The FBI arrested Finneran, 58, at New York's Kennedy Airport on Oct. 20 as his flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina, landed. He pleaded innocent to assaulting and intimidating a flight attendant and interfering with the performance of a flight crew, and he was freed on a $100,000 bond. Finneran, managing director of the Trust Company of the West, allegedly got drunk in the first-class section of the plane, became extremely rowdy and defecated in front of the other passengers. A criminal complaint filed in federal court said that the businessman, an expert on Third World debt, became angry when flight attendants refused to serve him any more alcohol. He physically threatened one attendant, prevented another from tending to a sick passenger and pushed a third into a seat, according to the complaint. One flight attendant told officials of returning to the first-class section to see 'Finneran with his pants and underwear down defecating on a service cart used by the flight crew.' In court on Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Macht compared Finneran to a drug dealer who peddles narcotics on school grounds or a convicted gambler who returns to the casino.
'What he did was an outrageous act that clearly threatened the safety of the passengers. His actions show he has a problem with his drinking and it creates hazards,' Macht said. Finneran's attorney, Charles Stillman, said his client -- who lives in Connecticut -- is a graduate of the Air Force Academy, has been married for 35 years, has three daughters and has logged 5 million frequent- flier miles without incident. Azrack granted the prosecution's request, ruling that Finneran must enter an alcohol abuse program and cannot board a plane without advance permission from the court.
