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Mr. Shkreli taunted his critics on television (dismissing Bernie Sanders on Fox Business Network: I dont think he understands pharmaceuticals at all), on Twitter (Haters, please tell me about the latest in apicomplexa genetic drift) and on hourslong YouTube live streams (combing his hair, playing chess and chatting with a female student at Hunter College High School).

During a live stream, Mr. Shkreli discussed rap, high school and a friend of his who is in jail.

Responding to the public outrage, Express Scripts, the largest prescription drug manager in the United States, said that it would back the production of an alternative to the $750-a-pill Daraprim that would cost only $1 a pill.

In December 2015, it was revealed that Mr. Shkreli was the buyer of a one-of-a-kind Wu Tang Clan album that was auctioned for $2 million. When RZA, a co-founder of the hip-hop group, criticized the sale, Mr. Shkreli responded with an expletive and told the rapper to show me some respect.

Nine days later, Mr. Shkreli was charged with securities fraud linked to his first pharmaceutical company, Retrophin. The government accuses Mr. Shkreli of using the company to pay back investors in MSB Capital, a hedge fund he founded. The investigation began long before his notoriety. He resigned from Turing shortly after being charged.

Those who know him describe Mr. Shkreli as charismatic and intelligent. Months before he became a drug industry pariah, Mr. Shkreli made a $1 million donation to Hunter College High School, the prestigious Upper East Side school that he attended before going to work on Wall Street at 17. Some alumni later pushed for the gift to be returned.

Martin is the smartest guy in the room at all times, someone who worked with him on Wall Street told The Times. One early investor said that if you give him a science textbook on chemistry, hed give it back to you in nine months and hed have it memorized.

Despite his penchant to speak his mind, Mr. Shkreli was notably quiet in a federal court in Brooklyn in February 2016 (in response to a question: yes, judge). The same was the case during a heated congressional hearing on drug prices (he smirked and took the Fifth Amendment). But after testifying, he tweeted: Hard to accept that these imbeciles represent the people in our government.

Mr. Shkreli invoked his Fifth Amendment rights while Congress peppered him with questions about his company's increasing drug prices.

Mr. Shkreli eventually shared the spotlight with other drug industry executives portrayed as villains. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, a company that also bought patents and raised drug prices, saw its stock plummet. And Mylan, the maker of the lifesaving allergy injecting device EpiPen, was criticized for raising the price for a two-pen set to more than $600.

The outspoken Mr. Shkreli was finally forced into silence this year, but only on Twitter. He was kicked off the social media platform after harassing a female journalist, but he maintains his online presence on Facebook and YouTube.

His lead defense lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, appeared to channel some of President Trumps advisers when he said that his clients messages on social media should not be taken at face value. When people tweet, they dont always mean what they say, Mr. Brafman said.

Excerpt from:
Scenes From Martin Shkreli's Journey to Federal Court - New York Times