Pointing fingers
'Slur' heiress plays up injury in court
An NFL heiress accused of bashing a California lawyer in the head with a $300 glass purse after making an antiSemitic slur at a Manhattan restaurant came to court on Thursday with a brace on her right hand, the result of surgery for the injuries she suffered in the incident.
Upper East Side socialite Jacqueline Kent Cooke, 29, daughter of the late Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke, briefly appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court, where prosecutors said they were seeking her medical records stemming from her clash with Matthew Haberkorn on New Year’s Eve. Haberkorn’s restraining order against Cooke remained in place Thursday.
Cooke hunched over, pouted and displayed her wrapped hand during the appearance.
She underwent surgery last month to have a titanium implant inserted into her right ring finger, a source told The Post Thursday. She has since needed physical therapy twice a week and daily exercise for her dislocated finger, the source said.
Cooke was charged with assault after her tussle with Haberkorn at the fancy Upper East Side restaurant Caravaggio. The incident unfolded in the line for the cloakroom when Cooke allegedly told Haberkorn’s relative, “Hurry up, you Jew.”
But Cooke insists she said, “Excuse me, I have to get through.” She has also claimed Haberkorn is to blame for her injured finger, and last month filed a cross-complaint against him.
At an appearance early last month, Cooke was represented by a public defender. But on Thursday, she was represented by Robert Caliendo from the Law Office of Marc Fernich.