Former Smith Barney Inc. public finance investment banker Michael Lissack yesterday pleaded guilty in New York County criminal court to a charge of second-degree harassment as part of a deal to settle more serious charges brought against him by executives at his former firm.
Processing Content
"Under the plea agreement ... Mr. Lissack received no penalty or punishment, but did agree to a protective order under which he will not send, or cause to be sent, e-mails to Salomon Smith Barney executives in the future," Nalven & Schacht, the firm representing Lissack, said in a statement.
According to the statement, the charge Lissack admitted to is a violation under New York State law, so he will not have a criminal record as a result of his plea.
The original charges of aggravated harassment stemmed from allegations that Lissack used the Internet to harass executives at the investment banking firm, posting e-mail messages that prompted a wave of phone calls to Salomon Smith Barney executives at work.
Officials at Salomon Smith Barney did not return calls seeking comment.
In one instance, Lissack contrived a story asking for support for a sick child and then named James Boshart, vice chairman for investment banking at the firm, as the victim.
Since 1995, Mr. Lissack has been instrumental in drawing attention to the municipal investment community's allegedly common practice of yield burning, an arbitrage abuse that is currently under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Internal Revenue Service.
He has also been locked in battles with his former firm. An arbitration case - in which he claimed he was wrongfully fired, and the firm counterclaimed that he had defamed it - was dismissed in July. Lissack is still seeking to force Salomon Smith Barney to pay his legal fees.
In addition, both he and the firm separately settled SEC charges resulting from allegations that they misled Dade County, Fla., about the savings the county could expect from a 1994 interest rate swap transaction.
Salomon Smith Barney settled these charges in September 1997 for $5.1 million. Lissack agreed to be suspended from the industry for five years and to pay a $30,000 fine.
