Three Ex-Marsh Execs Acquitted in Bid-Rigging Trial
By Andrew Longstreth
October 27, 2009
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Back when he was New York's attorney general, Eliot Spitzer was often accused of bullying defendants into settlements, even in cases that might not have held up in the courtroom. Companies, of course, rarely wanted to roll the dice, so they made deals with Spitzer instead of testing him in court. But some individual defendants fought. And for three former Marsh executives who were the targets of Spitzer's insurance bid-rigging investigation, that turned out to be the right move.Following an 11-month bench trial (yes, 11 months!), Manhattan state supreme court justice James Yates acquitted Joseph Peiser, former head of excess casualty at Marsh, and two of his subordinates, Greg Doherty and Kathleen Drake, of charges that they colluded with brokers at insurance companies like Zurich and AIG to fix prices for corporate customers. Here's The Wall Street Journal's story on the acquittal.
"Peiser should never have been charged," said Peiser's lawyer, Jerry Bernstein of Blank Rome, according to this Reuters story. "Just because he was head of global broking in North America, and because some people at Marsh may have done some bad things, does not mean he was guilty."
Peter Driscoll of Driscoll & Redlich represented Drake, and Maranda Fritz of Hinshaw & Culbertson represented Doherty. "I still believe Greg Doherty never should have been prosecuted," Fritz told Business Insurance. "We are so grateful that he can begin to rebuild his life," she said.
No one from the New York AG's office seems to have commented to the press.
According to The Wall Street Journal, two other former Marsh executives are awaiting trial. In February, two were found guilty of antitrust charges, but were acquitted on many other charges.
