Summary: The jury has rejected many of the lesser charges against the three former Dewey & LeBoeuf executives, but deciding the more serious charges is proving difficult.
“I asked a former Dewey partner in town from Dubai what he thought of [the Dewey] jury deliberations: ‘I painted a wall. It dried.'” — Sara Randazzo, legal writer for The Wall Street Journal
The Dewey & LeBoeuf case is dragging on.
And on.
And on.
At first it was interesting. There were anecdotes about wild parties and steak dinners. Stories of unscrupulous partners pinning blame on subordinates. Incredulous numbers to the tune of $250 million in taxable income for 2011 . . . with $295 million in partner payouts that same year.
After many months of witness testimony and oral arguments, the case finally seems to be chugging–or more like limping–along to its inevitable end. Last week the jury rendered a partial verdict, clearing the execs of some (but not all) of the charges.
On Tuesday, the jury rejected four additional counts of falsifying business records for chairman Steven Davis and executive director Stephen DiCarmine as well as one count for CFO Joel Sanders.
The jury has been unable to reach a verdict on the remaining 93 counts, including the most serious charge of larceny. The judge refuses to let a mistrial happen, and continues to send the case back to the jurors.
The five men and seven women on the jury must now decide if the three execs are guilty of deceiving lenders about the financial stability of the firm immediately before it fell apart in 2012. The most serious charges against each of the defendants are 15 counts of grand larceny in the first degree, one count of conspiracy, scheme to defraud, and securities fraud.
If convicted on the grand larceny charges, the execs would face a mandatory one year–and up to a 25 year–sentence. The falsifying business records and fraud charges carry one to four year sentences.
Additional source: @sara_randazzo (Twitter), Bloomberg BNA, The New York Times
Photo: logodesignblog.net