It took a Manhattan jury less than two hours to convict self-proclaimed ”Harlem Gatsby” restaurateur Dard Coaxum of slugging a stranger so hard during a drunken dispute that the man suffered permanent brain damage.
“Guilty” read the foreperson on one count each of assault and attempted assault as Coaxum’s girlfriend sobbed in the gallery Thursday.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked Judge Ann Scherzer to take Coaxum, 46, into custody pending his February 26 sentencing where he faces up to a year in jail.
“As we all know from his testimony, he’s a man of virtually unlimited means,” the ADA said of the former partner of posh French bistro Cedric.
Coaxum also said on the stand that his family owns $15 million in property.
Scherzer ordered court officers to take the dapper businessman, wearing a blazer and blue suede Ferragamo shoes, into custody as a dozen teary-eyed friends and family watched from the gallery.
“Love you all,” he said as he blew them a kiss.
During the one-week trial in Manhattan Criminal Court, Coaxum took the stand and argued that he acted in self-defense.
He said he threw the first punch inside the Gourmet Deli because Julio Torres, 43, was mouthing off and threatening him.
Coaxum claimed he threw the second devastating punch that caused Torres to crack his skull on the pavement after his opponent got into a fighting stance.
Torres can no longer walk, talk or feed himself. But The ADA argued that the video surveillance didn’t support Coaxum’s story.
“He attacked Julio Torres because he was pissing him off,” Steinglass said. “The defendant doesn’t get to knock someone out because that person is taunting him.”