SantaCon organizer Stefan Pildes leaving hearing for wire fraud charges

The Manhattan judge overseeing the fraud case involving SantaCon’s founder is no fan of the notoriously boozy Christmas season bar crawl. “Like anyone in New York, I am assaulted by SantaCon,” federal Judge Colleen McMahon said during a hearing for Stefan Pildes, who prosecutors say skimmed more than a million dollars from the event’s ticket sales that had been earmarked for charity — and instead went to fund his luxury vacations, a high-end car and other extravagances.