Bartiromo cited in divorce of Citigroup executive

Emily Smith of the New York Post reports Wednesday that CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo is named in court papers related to the divorce of a Citigroup executive.

Smith writes, “Maria Bartiromo could be called as a witness in the nasty divorce of ex-Citigroup honcho Todd S. Thomson, who famously offered the Money Honey a ride on his corporate private jet, sparking rumors of an affair.

“Thomson — who was Citigroup CFO for five years CEO of Citigroup’s Global Wealth Management Division until he took CNBC doyenne Bartiromo to a 2007 event in Asia on Citi’s jet and then was fired — is in the middle of a bitter divorce with his wife of 25 years, ­Melissa, with whom he has three children.

“The Wall Street Journal reported at the time that Thomson, now founder and CEO of Manhattan-based private equity firm Headwaters Capital, bumped execs from the return flight so he might fly back alone with Bartiromo, bankrolled Citi functions and TV shows that featured her, and named the glamorous TV anchor to a board he created inside his alma mater, Wharton business school.

“Thomson insisted in 2007 that his relationship with Bartiromo, who is married to Jonathan Steinberg, was “appropriate.” But Page Six can now exclusively reveal that a Connecticut court has granted his wife Melissa permission to depose Bartiromo, 46, stating that ‘certain facts which are in issue, or which directly assist in proving the Plaintiff’s [Melissa’s] case, are within the knowledge or power of [Bartiromo].'”

Read more here.