I think that the Justice Dept. has got some orders to do a press on Corporate crime.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A look at some of the most high-profile recent corporate scandals and the status of pending legal action.
- Adelphia Communications Corp.: Founder John Rigas and his son Timothy were convicted Thursday of conspiracy, bank fraud and securities fraud. Another Rigas son, Michael, was acquitted of conspiracy charges in a partial verdict; the jury was undecided on most of the remaining counts against him. A fourth executive, Michael Mulcahey, was found not guilty of conspiracy and securities fraud.
- Credit Suisse First Boston: The company's former investment banking star Frank Quattrone was convicted May 3 on federal charges of obstruction of justice. His first trial last year ended in a hung jury. Quattrone, who made a fortune taking Internet companies public during the dot-com stock craze, could get more than a year in prison at his sentencing Sept. 8.
- Enron Corp.: Former chairman and CEO Kenneth Lay pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he was involved in a wide-ranging scheme to deceive the public, company shareholders and government regulators.
Enron's former chief executive, Jeffrey Skilling, pleaded not guilty in February to fraud, conspiracy, insider trading and other federal counts related to the once-mighty energy giant's collapse. Former chief financial officer Andrew Fastow has pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
- HealthSouth Corp.: Fired CEO Richard Scrushy is tentatively scheduled for trial in late September in Birmingham, Ala., on federal charges of leading a multibillion-dollar scheme to overstate HealthSouth earnings to make it appear the company was meeting Wall Street forecasts.
Sixteen former HealthSouth executives have been charged with participating in a conspiracy to inflate the earnings; all but Scrushy have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with investigators.
- Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia: Company founder Martha Stewart was convicted March 5 of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making false statements related to a personal sale of ImClone Systems stock. On Thursday, the judge refused to grant her a new trial based on perjury charges against a government witness. Sentencing for Stewart and her former broker Peter Bacanovic is set for July 16.
- Qwest Communications International Inc.: Federal prosecutors in Denver failed to win a conviction against any of four former midlevel executives accused of plotting to help the company improperly book $34 million in revenue. Each faced 11 charges including conspiracy and securities fraud. On April 16, a jury acquitted John Walker and Bryan Treadway of all charges. The jury acquitted Grant Graham of three wire fraud charges but deadlocked on the remaining charges against him and on all charges against Thomas Hall. Graham subsequently pleaded guilty to a charge of accessory after the fact to wire fraud with reckless indifference. On June 9, a grand jury returned a new indictment against Hall on four charges; that case is pending.
- Tyco International Ltd.: A Manhattan state Supreme Court justice declared a mistrial in the case involving former CEO L. Dennis Kozlowski and former CFO Mark Swartz, who were accused of stealing $600 million from the company. The judge said there had been undue pressure on one juror. A retrial is scheduled for January. In a separate trial, a jury should begin considering larceny charges later this month against former Tyco lawyer Mark Belnick.
- WorldCom Inc.: Former CEO Bernard Ebbers has pleaded not guilty to federal fraud and conspiracy charges for allegedly directing a massive accounting fraud now estimated at $11 billion. A federal trial in Manhattan was set for Nov. 9, but the defense has requested a delay until at least January. Former CFO Scott Sullivan has pleaded guilty to fraud charges and agreed to testify against Ebbers.
In 2000, the clinton justice department went after Microsoft and the market crashed. It will happen again if Bush keeps up this Jihad against "big business".
What really frosts me is that once again in violation of the 9th and 10th amendments, Bush is trying to federalize what legally belongs in the state domain: corporate law.
If Ken Lay violated his fiduciary duty to shareholders, then try him in the state where Enron was incorporated.
I'm sorry, but I see these as political trials - no better than what one would expect in a communist dictatorship.
Did you hear the judge's statement when he rejected a retrial for Martha Stewart because that federal agent lied on the stand? "His testimony wouldn't have changed the jury's mind." Who the hell does he think he is to speak for the jury?
And while I am ranting about Martha Stewart, she was not convicted of insider trading, she was convicted of lying to federal agents. But the judge in her case has just ruled that it's OK for federal agents to lie in court when necessary to convict someone of lying to a federal agent.
Where is the outrage?