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The case has
drawn attention not only because of Walters' renown as a wealthy
professional sports gambler, but because of a connection to star
golfer Phil Mickelson and an investigation plagued by leaks.
Jury selection is set to begin in the morning before U.S.
District Judge Kevin Castel in federal court in Manhattan.
Walters, 70, was arrested in May 2016 in Las Vegas on charges of
securities and wire fraud.
Prosecutors accused him of trading on tips about Dean Foods Co
from the company's former chairman, Tom Davis, making $43
million in profits and avoiding losses between 2008 and 2014.
Walters was also accused of making $1 million trading on a tip
about Darden Restaurants Inc.
Davis has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with prosecutors.
In a related civil lawsuit, the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission said that Mickelson at one point bought Dean Foods'
stock on a recommendation by Walters, to whom he owed money
after placing bets with him.
Mickelson, who has won three Masters golf titles, was not
accused of wrongdoing, but agreed to pay back more than $1
million that the SEC said he obtained by trading Dean Foods
shares.
News that federal prosecutors were investigating Walters and
Mickelson leaked to the news media two years before charges were
filed. An agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation has
admitted to being the source of the leaks, which are themselves
being investigated by the Justice Department's Office of the
Inspector General.
Walters sought to have the charges against him dismissed because
of the leaks, but Judge Castel denied that motion earlier this
month.
The case is U.S. v. Davis et al, U.S. District Court, Southern
District of New York, No. 16-cr-00338.
(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Jonathan
Oatis)
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