Thomas Hoey has some evidence ruled out in upcoming trial

A Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday ruled out evidence of spending on cocaine and prostitutes at the upcoming trial of Long Island banana mogul Thomas Hoey, accused of stealing worker pensions, but said he would allow testimony on Hoey’s outlays for his girlfriend and gentlemen’s clubs.

U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer said Hoey’s use of corporate cash and credit cards from Long Island Banana Co. to finance his lifestyle — including strip clubs and a Manhattan apartment for his girlfriend — would help prosecutors contradict his claims that he was using pension money in good faith to help the business.

Prosecutors say he spent more than $350,000 on items that also included trips to Aruba, Barcelona and Las Vegas, expensive dinners, hotel stays in Manhattan and entertainment, along with visits to so-called gentlemen’s clubs once a week.

But the judge said expenditures on illegal items — drugs and prostitutes — would merely duplicate that proof, and should be excluded to avoid improperly focusing jurors on his “criminal propensity” and marital infidelity.

Hoey’s trial on charges that he embezzled nearly $1 million from the pension plan is scheduled to begin on March 14. He is currently serving a 12 1⁄2 year federal sentence for distributing cocaine, which led to a woman’s overdose death, and also faces a 1 1⁄3- to 4-year state sentence on a charge of assaulting his girlfriend.