Gawker
Derek Khan is living the high life now in Dubai, having put his past as a jewelry-pinching celebrity stylist behind him. He has recaptured some of his past glory, now appearing as a "commentator and makeover specialist" on satellite TV and in magazines like OK! Middle East. But in between Khan's come-up and his comeback, between 2003 and 2005, he did time at Rikers Island and two upstate prisons. None of his famous clients visited him in jail, so Khan kept tabs on them by reading fashion magazines. You can guess how that went over in the clink:
Mr. Khan continued to follow their careers in the pages of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, and his reading selections — along with the awareness of his formerly pampered lifestyle — made him a target of other prisoners and also guards.
“I was given the worst things to do, like scrubbing the toilets,” he said, “even though I was capable of helping G.E.D. students.”
Khan was deported to Trinidad at the end of his stint, with $10 to his name. An old friend eventually ran into him and ended up giving him $20,000 to get to Dubai. Now he "has been accepted into the society of wealthy expatriates and Saudi royalty" and is even designing his own jewelry line.
Dubai, Khan told the Times, is "a new Australia." Paging Margaret Seltzer...
[Times]
Comments
Reading fashion magazines in prison is like wearing underpants made of KY jelly.
"I was given the worst things to do, like scrubbing the toilets, even though I was capable of helping G.E.D. students."
I didn't realize that anal rape was part of the GED curriculum.
But I don't read Vogue or Harper's Bazaar so I'm not as familiar with prison education issues as are more socially engaged individuals.
@donmiguel: Sounds like a model of efficiency to me.
Had he a green card, he would have found "a new Australia" closer to Trinidad — South Beach.
I really enjoyed this story and would love to see it translate to a movie. Vin Diesel would be perfect as Derrick.
BUT you know what was disturbing? reading this: "I am sick to my stomach," said Eve Goldberg, a vice president at the William Goldberg Diamond Company, one of the concerns involved in legal action against Mr. Khan that was unable to recover the jewelry he borrowed. Ms. Goldberg described Mr. Khan as a "con man." "If he was smarter and not a criminal, he could have been very successful," she said.
"It's funny. I kept imagining him getting out of prison and having the nerve to call me."
This woman has problems. Psycho-logical problems. Appears Derrick is successful after-all...you just want to see him punished cuz he didn't sleep with you? ...get over yourself, Eve!!!
I wonder where Eve's diamonds come from? Those wouldn't be conflict diamonds you're peddling, would they Eve? Are you sure You're not working for criminals?
@Some of My Best Friends Are People: I thought it really was a picture of Vin Diesel at first.
Actually, reading Vogue and Harper's Bazaar also makes you everyone's bitch on The Outside too.
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