Judge Scola rules that some of the Mickey Munday 404(b) material will come in (UPDATED — but prosecution not permitted to reference movie Cocaine Cowboys).

UPDATE — NBC6 also covers the ruling here:

A federal judge Friday gave prosecutors an opportunity to use some of a former cocaine smuggler’s words against him in a new mail fraud conspiracy case – but they must avoid using at least one phrase in front of the jury: cocaine cowboy.
In a series of pretrial rulings, US District Judge Robert N. Scola Jr. said the government could try to introduce some of the comments Michael “Mickey” Munday made after his 1999 release from prison about his long-ago days as a pilot and smuggler during South Florida’s cocaine cowboy era – but “without bringing out ‘cocaine cowboys.’”
***“The judge allowed, for example, a 28-second clip from Rakontur Films’2006 documentary “Cocaine Cowboys,” in which Munday talks about using tow trucks as a cover to avoid law enforcement – but, the judge added, the government “does not have to tell the jury this is from the movie ‘Cocaine Cowboys.’ …. We can sanitize out ‘Cocaine Cowboys.’””

Sorry Billy & Alfred.

Original post — Judge Scola has ruled that some of the Mickey Munday 404(b) material will come in (background here). From the Herald (which picked up the story after the blog broke it):

If they’re picked for the jury in a new federal case against Munday, they can see some of that in trial, too — but prosecutors won’t get to shine a spotlight on the Cocaine Cowboys documentary that turned the ex-pilot from Miami into a media celebrity.
That would be too prejudicial, U.S. Judge Robert Scola ruled on Friday, noting that Munday isn’t facing drug charges this time around. Prosecutors have charged him in connection with an insurance fraud ring involving stolen cars.
“I’m trying to minimize the term Cocaine Cowboy being used,” Scola said, acknowledging later: “He’s in a more unique situation than most defendants with a criminal past.”
But the judge did approve a request from prosecutors to show Munday’s Twitter page, in which he dubs himself the “original Cocaine Cowboy,” and one short clip from the film. The reason: the fraud ring’s leader will testify that he recruited Munday specifically because of his notoriety from the 2006 documentary.

The Herald explains the movie:

But the judge did approve a request from prosecutors to show Munday’s Twitter page, in which he dubs himself the “original Cocaine Cowboy,” and one short clip from the film. The reason: the fraud ring’s leader will testify that he recruited Munday specifically because of his notoriety from the 2006 documentary.

Not sure about the Spellman part... Here’s the Plantain:

The Plantain has confirmed that Disney's Animated Studio has purchased the rights to adapt the 2006 documentary "Cocaine Cowboys" into an animated television show. The show will reportedly be geared at 5-10 year old children and feature such educational lessons as how to convert units of measurements into the metric system and the importance of not being a fucking snitch.

Cocaine Cowboys tells the bloody backstory of Miami's 1980's cocaine trade. The seminal Miami movie was created by local filmmaker Billy Corben and his partner, a fictitious individual created for tax purposes supposedly named "Alfred Spellman."