The daughter of a wealthy tech CEO who owns a mansion in Southampton will avoid jail after admitting to stealing $1,644 worth of clothes from Saks Fifth Avenue. Kate Meckler, who is described by the NY Post as one of New York's top real estate brokers, was arrested in April for grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property after Saks security caught her pulling "a top, a pair of jeans and a jacket from a rack" and stuffing it in her handbag. Ooopsy, is that frowned upon? I'm sorrrry, I'll just put them back. Hey, UNHAND ME ROGUE!

According to her bio on the Warburg Realty website, Meckler is "a graduate of Riverdale Country School and received a BA from New York University." So we can all agree that Rikers is no place for her. The Post has more on her privileged background:

Her father, Alan Meckler, is the CEO of Mediabistro.com and made his fortune as a tech pioneer at the helm of the Mecklermedia Corporation. Her grandfather Herman Meckler was an actor who had supporting roles in the movie hits “Amadeus” and “Hair.” Her parents own a spectacular oceanfront mansion in Southampton that was used in the film “As Good As It Gets.”

Meckler, 39, reached a deal with the Manhattan DA, pleading guilty yesterday to disorderly conduct. As part of the plea deal, she will serve five days of community service at an area soup kitchen. And so the affluent white woman's debt to society was repaid. Sadly, no one has yet been brought to justice for "As Good As It Gets."

Asked if the incident will affect Meckler's employment at Warburg Reality, the company's president, Frederick Warburg Peters, tells us, "I have every confidence in Kate and we continue to value highly her association with Warburg Realty." You know, maybe this whole thing is actually going to be a plus for her—spotless ethical probity isn't exactly a quality New Yorkers expect, or necessarily want, from their brokers. "You should really try Meckler—she found us a two bedroom in Gramercy that was a total steal."

Of course, this whole mess could have been avoided had she just shoplifted from Barneys, where the security doesn't really pay attention to the Kate Mecklers of the world.

