NEW YORK CITY: A prominent Dutch economist appeared in court in New York on Friday charged with harassing the chief economist of US banking giant Citigroup.
Heleen Mees, 44, a former economics professor at New York University, is accused of bombarding Citigroup executive Willem Buiter, 63, with at least 1,000 emails during a two-year period between 2011 and this year.
Many of the messages were sexually explicit while others were sent to Buiter and his wife and two children.
"Hope your plane falls out of the sky," Mees is alleged to have written in one message cited in court documents.
"Shall we adopt a child?", "What can I do to make it right?" Mees wrote in other messages.
One message included images of Mees masturbating, court records showed -- one of many emails which were sexually explicit.
US media reports have said Mees and Buiter had been lovers before ending their relationship.
The Dutch-born Buiter sent a cease and desist letter to Mees in February this year, but the messages continued, including one image of a dead bird sent in May.
Mees was arrested on Monday and charged with stalking and aggravated harassment. She was briefly imprisoned on Rikers Island before posting bail for $5,000.
Mees has been ordered to appear in court again on August 19.
Mees previously worked at NYU's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, specializing in monetary policy and China.
She speaks five languages including Mandarin and has written three books.
Buiter joined Citigroup as chief economist in 2010. He had previously served as chief economist to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and was an external member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee.
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