Gen Andrew Cuomo

Los Angeles venture capitalist and philanthropist Elliott Broidy pleaded guilty Thursday to charges that he paid $1 million in gifts to New York public pension officials to win $250 million in investment capital for his private equity fund. Broidy, 52, faces a possible prison sentence of up to four years at his sentencing, scheduled for June 10. New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo characterized Broidy's actions as bribery, saying he sent a top state official and relatives on luxury trips to Israel and Italy and paid the rent and hospital bills of a bureaucrat's girlfriend to get the investment money for his Century City firm, Markstone Capital Partners.

A lawsuit filed against accounting giant Ernst & Young marks one of the biggest government efforts to date to assign blame for the financial crisis. The suit by Andrew Cuomo, the outgoing New York state attorney general, accuses Ernst & Young of helping Lehman Bros. cover up its declining health in the months before the investment bank's collapse in September 2008. Cuomo's complaint, filed in state court, focuses on a set of short-term transactions, begun in 2001, that allowed Lehman to look healthier and less risky when it reported quarterly financial data.

A former top New York state official with ties to Southern California securities and investment executives pleaded guilty Wednesday to corruption charges in a still-unfolding "pay to play" scandal. David Loglisci, the chief investment officer at the New York State Comptroller's office from 2003 to 2007, admitted that he violated public trust by basing investment decisions on whether they would benefit former state Comptroller Alan Hevesi and his political advisor, Henry "Hank" Morris, New York Atty.

Steven Rattner, who engineered the government's bailout of the auto industry, was sued by New York state in a pension kickback case just as he settled similar federal allegations. Two lawsuits filed Thursday by New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo accuse Rattner of paying state officials to steer investment work to his former private equity firm, Quadrangle Group. The suits seek to permanently bar Rattner from the securities industry and to force him to pay at least $26 million.

Two Los Angeles private equity firms that did business with a New York state pension fund have adopted a code of ethics that prohibits the use of controversial sales intermediaries and bars campaign contributions to pension fund board members, New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday. The code goes far beyond current and proposed similar policies at the California Public Employees' Retirement System, known as CalPERS, the country's largest public pension fund. The two firms, Ares Management and Freeman Spogli & Co., both used so-called placement agents to secure business with the New York State Common Retirement Fund.

American International Group Inc. said it canceled a multimillion-dollar severance package for its departing chief financial officer. New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo said outgoing CFO Steven Bensinger was slated to receive a golden parachute worth about $10 million.

Dell Inc. repeatedly used false and deceptive advertising of its promotional credit financing and warranty terms to consumers, a judge found. New York State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Teresi said state Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo showed that "many customers" were entitled to restitution, but the record was insufficient to determine how much. When Cuomo sued the computer maker last year, Dell spokesmen said the company's conduct had been honorable.

New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo sent subpoenas to colleges, including Columbia University, Georgetown University, Cornell University and Sarah Lawrence College, in a probe of their relationships with health insurers. Cuomo is looking at whether colleges are receiving any improper payments for steering students to insurers they may not need, a spokesman said. Investigators also are probing whether there's enough disclosure of policy terms and costs, he said.

EarthLink Inc.'s PeoplePC unit agreed to stop deceptive marketing of its dial-up Internet service and give refunds to New Yorkers who incurred undisclosed long-distance charges, New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo said. PeoplePC also agreed to pay New York $20,000 in penalties and costs. The company advertised unlimited and low-cost Internet access even though its dialing service sometimes selected nonlocal phone numbers that boosted charges, Cuomo said. EarthLink, founded in Pasadena and now based in Atlanta, is the fourth-largest U.S. Internet service provider.

A New York judge ordered former Merrill Lynch & Co. Chief Executive John Thain to testify about bonuses paid to Merrill employees before the company was sold to Bank of America Corp. New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo filed a motion in the state's Supreme Court asking that Thain be compelled to provide details on the bonuses, which he had declined to give during a deposition Thursday. Thain's attorney, Andrew Levander, later said that the motion was granted and Thain would answer the questions today.

A former top New York state official with ties to Southern California securities and investment executives pleaded guilty Wednesday to corruption charges in a still-unfolding "pay to play" scandal. David Loglisci, the chief investment officer at the New York State Comptroller's office from 2003 to 2007, admitted that he violated public trust by basing investment decisions on whether they would benefit former state Comptroller Alan Hevesi and his political advisor, Henry "Hank" Morris, New York Atty.

Less than a week after New York Gov. David Paterson launched his election bid to keep his seat, positioning himself as David against a Goliath of critics, he abruptly abandoned those plans Friday, buckling under revelations that raised doubts about his judgment and commitment to the job. "I am being realistic about politics," Paterson told reporters squeezed into a small briefing room in the governor's Manhattan office. "There are times in politics when you have to know not to strive for service, but to step back.

Two Los Angeles private equity firms that did business with a New York state pension fund have adopted a code of ethics that prohibits the use of controversial sales intermediaries and bars campaign contributions to pension fund board members, New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday. The code goes far beyond current and proposed similar policies at the California Public Employees' Retirement System, known as CalPERS, the country's largest public pension fund. The two firms, Ares Management and Freeman Spogli & Co., both used so-called placement agents to secure business with the New York State Common Retirement Fund.

A federal judge who rejected the government's first bid to settle civil charges against Bank of America Corp. showed little enthusiasm Monday for a new proposed settlement. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff sharply questioned the merits of the latest proposal, which calls for the company to pay $150 million to resolve allegations that it lied to shareholders at the height of the financial crisis about its pending acquisition of brokerage Merrill Lynch. Last fall, Rakoff threw out an initial, $33-million settlement between the company and the Securities and Exchange Commission, calling it a "contrivance designed to provide the SEC with the facade of enforcement."

Former Bank of America Chief Executive Ken Lewis now holds the inglorious distinction of being the first top figure from a major bank to be sued by the government over the financial industry's debacle of the last 18 months. The New York attorney general's office Thursday accused Lewis, the bank and another former top official of fraud in connection with Bank of America Corp.'s acquisition of investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co. at the height of the financial crisis. Bank of America and its top executives misled the government and its shareholders about the size of Merrill Lynch's losses, according to the civil lawsuit filed in New York state court.

Los Angeles venture capitalist and philanthropist Elliott Broidy pleaded guilty Thursday to charges that he paid $1 million in gifts to New York public pension officials to win $250 million in investment capital for his private equity fund. Broidy, 52, faces a possible prison sentence of up to four years at his sentencing, scheduled for June 10. New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo characterized Broidy's actions as bribery, saying he sent a top state official and relatives on luxury trips to Israel and Italy and paid the rent and hospital bills of a bureaucrat's girlfriend to get the investment money for his Century City firm, Markstone Capital Partners.

New York state Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo received a $10,000 campaign donation from an investment firm executive he later claimed knew of kickbacks made to win $750 million in state pension fund business, according to election records and people familiar with the case. The donation has been returned, Cuomo spokesman Richard Bamberger said in an e-mail without elaborating. The executive, George Hall of Clinton Group Inc., hasn't been charged. Hall, a hedge-fund manager who has contributed to other Democratic Party candidates, didn't return calls for comment.