US prosecutors have told a New York judge of new guilty plea deals offered to three senior Dewey & LeBoeuf executives after the criminal case over the biggest law firm bankruptcy in history collapsed recently.
The four-month trial, which saw the testimony of more than 40 prosecution witnesses, fell apart in October with a deadlocked jury. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance has tabled three simplified plea offers to ex-executive director Stephen DiCarmine, former chief financial officer Joel Sanders and ex-client relations manager Zachary Warren or face retrial.
The New York County District Attorney’s Office has dismissed the most serious charges, falsifying business records, for the trio and former Dewey chairman Steven Davis.
No deal has yet been offered to Davis, an architect of the 2007 merger that created Dewey & LeBoeuf, but his lawyers are in talks to end the case under a deferred prosecution agreement.
Sanders is the only one of the four to face time in jail. The following offers were also stated on the record in court yesterday (7 December):
‘DiCarmine: People offer plea to Scheme to Defraud 1 (E felony) with conditional discharge upon completion of 500 hours of community service prior to sentencing at an organization approved by the People, as well as an appropriate resolution with the SEC.
Sanders: People offer plea to Scheme to Defraud 1 (E felony) and 1 to 3 years in prison.
Warren: People offer plea to Scheme to Defraud 2 (A misdemeanor) with conditional discharge upon completion of 200 hours of community service prior to sentencing at an organization approved by the People.’
Joan Vollero, a spokesperson for the New York County District Attorney’s Office, said in a statement: ‘The offers presented to the four defendants at this stage are fair and appropriate. The dismissal of some of the less serious charges in the indictments is an effort to streamline the cases, based, in part, on valuable feedback from jurors in the first trial. If the matters are not resolved, we look forward to trying the cases.’
tom.moore@legalease.co.uk