Williams & Connolly, Brune & Richard Win Acquittals for Bear Stearns Managers in Blockbuster Fraud Case
By David Bario
November 10, 2009
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Well, that didn't take long. The Brooklyn jury considering conspiracy, securities fraud, and wire fraud charges against former Bear Sterns hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin took less than a day to return a verdict of not guilty Tuesday. Cioffi left federal district court judge Frederic Block's courtroom smiling and pumping his fists, The New York Times reported. We weren't there when the verdict was announced, but we wouldn't be surprised if the first thing both Cioffi and Tannin did with their newly earned freedom was thank their lawyers. Cioffi relied on William & Connolly's Dane Butswinkas, Brendan Sullivan, Jr., Margaret Keeley, and Jonathan Landy, along with Hughes Hubbard & Reed's Edward Little and Marc Weinstein. Tannin was represented by Susan Brune and Nina Beattie from the boutique litigation firm Brune & Richard.
The verdict is, of course, a serious blow to the government's efforts to extract its pound of flesh from Wall Street over the financial crisis. The trial, which we covered here and here, was the culmination of the first major criminal case to be leveled at finance executives as the crisis began to unfold last year. Brooklyn U.S. attorney Benton Campbell said in a statement, "We are disappointed by the outcome in this case, but the jurors have spoken, and we accept their verdict."
Cioffi and Tannin had been charged with three counts of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud for allegedly lying to investors about the health of two funds backed by subprime mortgages which later collapsed and wiped out $1.6 billion in investments. Cioffi also faced an additional charge of insider trading for allegedly moving $2 million into a safer fund as the subprime-backed funds began to fail. As he left the courtroom following his acquittal, Cioffi summed up his mood pretty succinctly to The Associated Press: "I'm happy," he said.
