As reports of Manhattan’s unethical “ethical” probes of lawyers come in on a daily basis from around the country, we now welcome The Netherlands to the list of the whitewashed…. MORE....
A member of the Genta, Inc., class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Newark filed a complaint with the Manhattan Departmental Disciplinary Committee against Melvyn I. Weiss of Milberg Weiss on May 2, 2007. But could the complainant, Dirk Raat of Gronlingen, The Netherlands, prove it? “For sure,” he says. And he did, he says, on a “silver plate” to then-chief counsel of the 1st Department’s Ethics Committee, Thomas Cahill.
Good with a brush: Vermeer, Rembrandt and Cahill
The allegations against Melvyn Weiss included violations of Professional Conduct and advancing a fraud on a client and a court of law. But you could just hear the whispers of the ghosts (Dutch settlers, perhaps) from the second floor of 61 Broadway: “whitewash…. whitewash…”
And what did the gentleman from Gronlingen get from the Cahill Cleansing Crew: a good-ole Yankee Bronx Cheer. And form letter, of course.
By May of 2004, Genta had been hit with dozens of lawsuits alleging fraud, and for misleading investors, insider trading, reaping illicit profits totaling over $125 million and for artificially inflating stock prices. The matter would soon evolve into a class action suit. The allegations would soon include connections between Mel Weiss, David Bershad, William “pit bull” Nasser and hedge fund manager Lindsay Rosenwald.
And, Dirk maintains, The Milberg Weiss law firm should have declined to act as class counsel in Gentra due to a conflict of interest. To most, the matter sounds like something simple for the DDC to investigate and take a position on.
More Screwing at “The Committee or “De Wallen”
“Even a superficial review would have found disqualifying connections between Milberg and the class,” says one attorney knowledge with the allegations.
The big question, however, is whether or not ANY investigation or inquiry was even initiated.
(In October of 2006, a settlement agreement provided for a reported $200,000 payment to the plaintiffs’ attorneys by Genta’s insurance company. On May 7, 2007, the proposed settlement received final approval from the U.S. District Court in Newark.)
Something Smells, and It’s Not the Tulips of Keukenhof Gardens
At the request of many readers, this forum will soon post the publicly available contact information for each and every Departmental Disciplinary Committee member so that they may be contacted to ascertain whether any specific complaint was, in fact, ever sent to them or any committee member for review, and as questionably advanced by the DDC.
Meanwhile, review the referenced complaint and other related information, to the right, marked: “Milberg Weiss”
Tom Cahill is gone but his untoward deeds live on as does Ms. Cohen for the time being.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who knows Mel Weiss knows to count your fingers after you shake hands with him.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe this. A friend just told me about this blog. I am speachless. THE SAME F***ING thing happened to me with the crooks at Milberg AND WITH THE COMPLAINT I FILED WITH THE ETHICS PEOPLE.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe this?!?
How much did Cahill get from Melly? Or did Mel help Cahill's daughter become a law partner? Ever see Cahill's little house in Connecticut? Just a few questions the feds might ask when the FOLLOW THE MONEY !
ReplyDeleteWell the bastard attorneys made sure they got paid. What a bunch of whores.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of slimeballs and Milberg Weiss, did you see yesterday's Washington Post:
ReplyDeleteThe Washinton Post
November 12, 2007
Convicted Former Milberg Weiss Partner's Washington Post Op-Ed on Executive Compensation
In yesterday's Washington Post
(http://www.washingtonpost.com /wp-dyn/content/article/2007 /11/09/AR2007110901563.html ?nav=most_emailed),
former Milberg Weiss plaintiffs' attorney William Lerach wrote an op-ed criticizing large payments to departing executives (specifically, Merrill Lynch's O'Neal and Citigroup's Prince). Milberg Weiss, you may recall, was the largest plaintiffs firm in the United States before it dissolved in 2004 after several of its partners were indicted on charges of mail fraud, rackateering, and bribery. Lerach pled guilty to a felony charge of conspiracy, paid fines and a forfeiture of $7.75 million, and is currently in prison.
His op-ed is very "poor me" ("It turns out that the legal system is a lot tougher on shareholder lawyers than it appears to be on Wall Street executives."). Lerach compares O'Neal and Prince to Andrew Fastow and Kenneth Lay and criticizes the fact that large corporations can continue paying such massive departure compensation packages without shareholders having much of a chance to hold them accountable in any legal way.
This article may not have been notable had Lerach not been its author. I found the whole thing fascinating to read, however, because of his obvious bias. I can imagine him sitting in prison (actually, I don't know if he's begun his sentence yet), just itching to start talking to some of his favorite lead plaintiffs and get started on a lawsuit against Citi and Merrill. At the same time, knowing he can't do that, I have to wonder whether he has convinced himself, after all this time, that plaintiffs' lawyers are really the good guys, out there most importantly (or solely?) to serve the interests of plaintiffs.
The other noteworthy thing about Lerach's op-ed is his assertion that these large exit packages are at least in part meant to keep the "sacrificial lamb" quiet. I'd never really thought this was a big part of executive compensation. For all the experts in the class, is the fear that ousted executives will "bleat to the stockholders, lawyers and the media that the others at the top of the company (and in the boardroom) knew what was really going on" something that companies (and their executive compensation consultants) really take into account when constructing exit packages? I guess I'm critical of executive compensation only to the extent that it isn't transparent. The idea of a silencing feature to exit packages seems to me very non-transparent and thus problematic (but also, unfortunately, probably unprovable). But I think I'm skeptical of this assertion because it seems like the ousted exec would really be asking for both civil and criminal prosecution for admitting even knowledge of board misbehavior (and more likely, the ousted exec would probably have been at least somewhat involved in the misbehavior if there were misbehavior). Lerach's assertion just doesn't seem realistic to me.
More good news on Melon Head, from the WSJ.blog
ReplyDeleteNovember 12, 2007, 4:06 pm
Mel Weiss & Milberg Want Their Trial Moved To Gotham
Posted by Nathan Koppel
The Law Blog loves change-of-venue motions. We dwelled on Joe Nacchio’s this summer, and highlighted Wesley Snipes’s last week. Here’s another that just came across our desks: Mel Weiss and his firm Milberg Weiss have filed a joint motion to move their case from L.A. to Gotham. (The long-running investigation into Milberg was conducted out of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles.)
Weiss’s “three children, and six grandchildren” live in New York, the motion states. “He is 72 years old and will be 73 by the time of trial. His friends, relatives, doctors, and trial counsel all live in New York. His reputation exists in his community as does his temple and his spiritual support.”
As for the firm, its principal office and management committee all reside in the Big Beautiful Apple. “The firm is a smaller entity than the one that existed when this investigation began,” the motion states, “and the disruption and expense of a cross-country trial will have a significant impact” on the firm. How much smaller? In May 2006, when the firm was indicted, it had 45 partners, 72 other lawyers, and 231 staff, according to a supporting affidavit. But in September of this year, it had shrunk to 26 partners, 52 lawyers, and 174 staff.
The filing has lots of other fun data about the expense for a New Yorker facing a trial more than 3,000 from home:
Taxi fare from LAX to downtown LA: $42.00
Taxi fare from midtown Manhattan to JFK airport: $49.50
The average nightly hotel rate for Milberg folks in downtown Los Angeles: $219.56
A fully refundable, nonstop coach-class ticket on American Airlines: $1,584
Business-class airfare: $2,674
The estimated out-of-pocket costs to Milberg for Mel Weiss to stay in LA for the duration of a 3-month trial: $42,852.90
Estimated out-of-pocket trial costs for Weiss lawyer Benjamin Brafman and his team: $194,242.80
If you are wondering, as we did, who travels coach and who travels biz-class at Milberg, here’s the deal, according to an affidavit. Partners can travel business, while associates and staff get the coach treatment. But the underlings can get reimbursed for upgrading their tickets, “if the reason for the upgrade is absolutely necessary and unavoidable (e.g., traveling with a partner).” In other words, it pays to have a partner in tow.
Of course it should be moved to New York. That's where you can buy results. What don't you understand about this? This is New York.... everything is for sale, or sold. End of story.
ReplyDeleteNew York has been for sale for decades! When it affects the JUDICIAL SYSTEM it becomes beyond criminal and intolerable! Addressing this is immediate and crucial...taxpayers and court users must uprise about this, TODAY!
ReplyDeleteSpitzer returned over 190,000 in donations he recieved for his gov run after he was indicted.
ReplyDeleteThe charges were made by the California AG. Spitzer never offered any help or cooperation to the Cal. AG. They will walk. After the case is over the will get a ticker tape parade from court house to battery park.
If they find them guilty it will
look bad. Someone might raise 2 questions
1.)How did they get away with it for so many years?
2.) What other illegal things are going on?
2 Questions no one in the legal comunity will want to answer.
If they get let off no one has to answer anything.
FOLLOW THE MONEY.
Everyone was telling Mel that he was too greedy and out of control. Mel wouldn't listen to anyone. He has made his own bed...
ReplyDeleteI bet they can easily get one of Mel's former associates, and who also became a Mel vitim, to talk about how he used to "say thank you" (cold hard ca$h).
Should've watched who you screwed, Mr. Weiss.
Mel wants to move the case/trail to NY from LA. The US Attorney in LA did all of the investigation. Why does Mel want everything moved? Because he know he can fix everything in NY with the corrupt courts. He has more juice in NY than he has in LA.
ReplyDeleteI have to avoid the news on Mel Wiess, it makes me sick to my stomach. What's the latest? Is his trial being moved to NYC?
ReplyDeleteget a life already....your an old man Mel, do everyone a favor.
ReplyDeleteMel needs to go to jail, as lesson to future generations.... Give up, Mel, you guilty old goat. Plead guilty, because you are.
ReplyDeleteMel you should be a onivevyon!
ReplyDeleteMelvin, your mother would be ashamed of you
ReplyDeleteDIRTY MEL THEY FINALLY GOT YOU, SO YOU'RE NOT AS SMART AS YOU THINK
ReplyDeleteI just emailed some damning stuff on Mel to this blog....let's see if they have the balls to post it.
ReplyDeleteMelvin how's your high blood pressure? Can I help?
ReplyDeleteDoes it get any worse?
ReplyDeleteMel all these things they are writing about you it's terrible. Even if only half is true you should be ashamed of yourself. Try to think about this the next time you come to shul.
ReplyDelete