Tabber Benedict, the Sherman McCoy of our time. (Patrick McMullan)

Tabber Benedict, one of The New York Observer’s "Gatsbabies," who almost killed a man during a drunk driving incident in the Hamptons two years ago, is taking his upcoming prison term in stride. The night before he was to be handed down a sentence of up to 10 years in prison for plowing his GMC Acadia into a 45-year-old teacher named Steven Dorn in 2011, Mr. Benedict threw himself a party at Bungalow 8 (or whatever we're calling it now. Number 8? The former Bungalow 8?).

He told friends that the party was in honor of his upcoming departure ... for Europe.

A ridiculous way to save face in the off chance any of his friends read the news, the 35-year-old finance lawyer threw a bash on January 24, where he spun tales of the exotic travels for which he'd soon be departing, the Post reported today. He was given the space for free because he knew someone who ran the door. (Obviously.)

And yet ... the 150 or so attendees were "shocked" to discover that the following morning, Mr. Benedict was not setting sail for Venice, but was sitting in court, apologizing to the man he hit while drunk and awaiting the judge's sentence. Well, one person wasn't taken totally off-guard. Gatsbaby and frenemy Justin Ross Lee told the paper: "I feel terrible for Tabber because I know there's no table service where he's headed. He's the most the pretentious person I ever met."

Then again, that might be a compliment coming from Mr. Lee, who runs the handkerchief line Pretentious Pocket. We just hope Benedict's jumpsuit has a breast pocket.

Who would ever steal from this guy? (NY Social Diary)

Did power broker Michael Shvo forget to check the references on his $6.5 million dollar apartment-sitting application?

It appears so!

The Real Deal reports that Shvo's house-sitter, Sandra Miranda, has been sentenced for 18-36 months to a state prison for stealing $44,000 and 7,500 British pounds (about $12,000) from Shvo's apartment.

But the kick is that it wasn't her first time stealing from successful Manhattanites. In 2001, Miranda was charged with stealing a credit card from an employee that died in the World Trade Center attack:

In 2001, the police charged her with stealing a credit card belonging to friend Laura Gilly, an employee of commercial brokerage Cantor Fitzgerald, who died in the World Trade Center attacks. While checking on Gilly’s cat following the attacks, Miranda allegedly snatched the card and later ran up charges of $5,000 thanks to a three-day spending spree at the Staten Island Mall.

What may be the saddest thing for Mr. Shvo, though, is this is about the only thing going on for the once-renowned deal marker. Oh, how the mighty have been robbed.

mchaban [at] observer.com | @MC_NYC

The House of D. (RevBilly.com)

Within walking distance from Barney's and Trader Joe's, the Brooklyn House of Detention is preparing for 759 new tenants. Not exactly the modern picture  of bohemian paradise Brooklyn likes to portray. But this is also the reality of the prison industrial complex in which we live, The Times reports:

The jail will incarcerate primarily prisoners who have been arraigned and are awaiting trial in Brooklyn or on Staten Island. Because those prisoners are no longer coming from Rikers, this will reduce bus traffic, officials say. The average stay will be 56 days. Prisoners are escorted from the complex to and from Brooklyn Criminal Court through an underground tunnel.

The detention house was never meant to be permanent and closed in 2003, but given growing pains at Rikers Island, the Department of Corrections is renovating and reopening the Brooklyn penitentiary.

Downtown Brooklyn, however, has been a site of rapid gentrification which leaves many community members uneasy about their children's safety and the value of their homes. The concerns are not the prisoners - which are locked up and under surveillance - but rather the parking spots and visitors as a potential factor to increased foot crime.

To add insult to the mockery, Crain's notes that the "city toyed with the idea of adding retail units on the bottom floor of the jail, but a lawsuit in 2010 barred authorities from expanding the jail in any way."

Photographer: Peter Foley/Bloomberg via Getty.

Raj Rajaratnam is likely in the market for some new "inside" tips about now: how he's going to survive eleven years in prison, the sentence for the $64M worth of insider trading he was recently found guilty for that was handed down today. UPDATED: It's being suggested that Raj is going to the same prison as Bernie Madoff, The Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, N.C.

Tip #1: The South Asian Mafia doesn't have the stronghold in the pen one in his position might hope for.

The former Galleon Group chief used tipsters from the likes of I.B.M. and Intel to pick up big gains. Peter Lattman at Dealbook noted that the sentence was lighter than prosecutors had hoped for (19 to 24 years) but that it continues in a trend of harsher sentences for white collar crimes (even though "the average sentence of the 13 other defendants connected to Mr. Rajaratnam’s case has been about three years"). He also got a $10M fine—again, for $64M worth of manipulating markets, and if that sounds like a $54M difference, it is—but whatever. The guy's got larger problems at the moment. Like whoever his cell-mate's going to be.

Other reactions from around the web:

One primer on how Raj may have recieved a harsher sentence for being defiant to a testosterone-loaded government hellbent on winning: "If Rajaratnam’s sentence is enhanced because he refused to surrender his judgment, a man who has been accused of corrupting others to gain stock tips will be sentenced, in part, for showing that the government has failed to corrupt him."

Twitter: "Racism rearing its ugly head."

Also: "Madoff's pissed."

And finally: "Gordon Gecko SMH*."

*"Shaking my head."

UPDATE: We're now reading via Joe Wiesenthal at Business Insider that Rajaratnam is being sent to the same prison as Bernie Madoff. It's also known as the same prison Bernie Madoff was beaten in.

fkamer@observer.com | @weareyourfek

“I took inspiration from old Hollywood glamor and added a modern edge,” Lohan told People.

And if you thought that Lindsay is so busy with her non-existent movie career to actually contribute to the designs, you're dead wrong.

“She comes to meetings with tears, photos, and fabrics," business partner Kristi Kaylor said. "She brings her own shoes in to show specifics. She’s ultra-prepared, all the time.”

Well, if her recent living arrangements have rubbed off on her, we'd expect there to be a disproportionate amount of shoes that go with orange jumpsuits. Hey, Lindsay, maybe prison chic will be big in 2011!

Click for What Twitter Taught Us: Piers Morgan Defends A Cell-Abusing Arianna

nfreeman [at] observer.com | @nfreeman1234

According to Lam's attorney, Andrew M. Jaffe, private investigator Jimmy Robbins, who first contacted Lam, was working for Apple.

But when Jaffe called Robbins, he was informed that Robbins was off the case, and Apple was handling it personally. "Now we're just waiting to hear from them officially," said Jaffe.

Since The Observer broke this story, Lam has had a hectic couple days. "Traffic to the site this month is equal to all the other months combined," Lam told The Observer. "I am just overwhelmed with emails." 

The story of Lam's entreprenurial genius made news around the world and was picked up this afternoon by several major papers in China. However, it was not clear until now who exactly was going after Lam. "I'm feeling pretty stressed, knowing it's the Almighty Apple who is coming after me," Lam said.

The Observer has reached out to Apple for comment.

READ THE ORIGINAL FEI LAM STORY HERE