Stuart “Papa Smurf” Ross, the down-on-his heels septuagenarian who brought the loveable blue creatures to the United States in the 1980s, yesterday was sentenced to at least two years’ probation for trying to extort his own relatives.
Ross had pleaded guilty in August to demanding $11 million from his son-in-law, London private equity giant David Blitzer, in return for staying away from Blitzer and his family.
Ross has tried repeatedly since then to withdraw that plea and assert his innocence.