Audio By Carbonatix
Last year, the God of Tabloids grew bored with the octo-mom, Jon and Kate, and yes, even Paris, so He snapped his ink-stained fingers and created Hochstein v. Hansen.
And it was good: A Miami plastic surgeon nicknamed the “Boob God.” A furious Norweigian Playboy model. Nearly nude photos. A $500,000 legal settlement. It had everything!
This week, the Almighty Patron of Sleaze decided we needed more. (Hey, it has been a couple of days since the Kardashians have done anything interesting.) So now you can add a famous Hollywood madame and a counter-suit to the deliciously trashy mix.
In case you haven’t kept up with your New York Post subscription, here’s the background.
Will you step up to support New Times this year?
We’re aiming to raise $30,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to you. If Miami New Times matters to you, please take action and contribute today, so when news happens, our reporters can be there.
In 2006, Dr. Leonard Hochstein, a renowned Miami plastic surgeon nicknamed the “Boob God,” posted photos of one Monica Hansen on his website. Ms. Hansen, a busty former Miss Norway, Playboy model, and Maxim magazine’s 2006 “Woman of the Year,” was a client and briefly his girlfriend, according to the good doctor.
Hansen sued, claiming she never gave Hochstein permission to use her photos in his advertisements. A Los Angeles jury awarded her a $564,555 default judgment in July.
Now Hochstein is striking back. He has a hearing in L.A. next week to ask a judge to set aside the award. And he is armed with what looks like a damning email from Hansen to Michelle Braun, a notorious Boca Raton madame who was arrested this spring and charged with running a multimillion-dollar prostitution ring.
In an email forwarded to New Times that appears to be between Hansen and Braun on November 17, 2008, titled “Re: Photo Shoot,” Hansen seems to admit that “yes honey I did let Lenny use the pictures.”
Hochstein sent New Times a statement about the upcoming hearing:
This entire situationhas caused me both personal and professional hardships. What bothers me the most
is that somebody whom I believed to be a good person and whom I thought was a
friend turned out to be not only a liar but a person whose morals and values are
questionable at best. Once the judgment is lifted, I will be able to have my
side of the story told and show that I did nothing wrong as well as show the
world the type of person Monica truly is. I have faith in our legal system and
am confident that in the end justice will be served.
