NEW YORK -- A prosecutor and a defense attorney at an insider trading trial agreed that golfer Phil Mickelson was pivotal to their case Wednesday, telling jurors that what they'll learn about him will help them decide whether a professional Las Vegas gambler earned over $40 million illegally through insider trading.
The golfer's name was cited by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Ferrara when he told Manhattan federal court jurors that gambler William "Billy" Walters encouraged friends, including Mickelson, to buy stock in Dean Foods Co., a Dallas-based company that is one of the nation's largest processors of milk for retailers.