Criminals, Spies Love Meeting at Starbucks

Wow, seems like all future spy movies have a natural product placement opportunity. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, those dimly lit, smoke-filled rooms for secrets meetings have pretty much died out in recent years. Their replacement? Starbucks across the country.

Among a series of recent crimes that have connections to the coffee giant:

1. Raj Rajaratnam's Insider Trading Trial: The former billionaire hedge fund manager was convicted yesterday of 14 counts of insider trading. Rajaratnam's brother met with a portfolio manager from his company at a midtown Manhattan Starbucks to discuss covering their tracks and how to get their story straight. Earlier in the investigation, a governmental official met with a potential witness at a Starbucks to discuss their potential participation in the case.
2. Anna Chapman's Russian Spy Case: The now-deported Chapman admitted working as a spy in the United States and has returned to Russia to launch a modeling career. She communicated with a Russian consular official using a secure wireless network from a Starbucks at 47th Street and Eighth Avenue. She messaged with the official, who was outside in a minivan.
3. Alleged Drug Dealer Harjinder Brar: An undercover officer with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement set up two meetings with Brar at a Starbucks in Bellingham, WA. The man, and an accomplice, allegedly discussed selling up to 400,000 pills of ecstasy.

Moral of the story? There could all sorts of people waiting in line with you for that latte.

Photo by CarbonNYC