A.I.G. Memo Points to Pressure From Cuomo

[cal04]

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/aig-memo-points-to-pressure-from-cuomo/?hp

Employees of the American International Group appear to have been given an implicit ultimatum from Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo of New York: Give back your bonuses and your names will not be made public.

Gerry Pasciucco, the head of A.I.G. financial products division, told employees that they needed to decide by 5 p.m. on Monday whether they would return the bonuses, according to a memo obtained by The Washington Post and CNBC.

“Please be aware that we have received assurances from Attorney General Cuomo that no names will be released by his office before he completes a security review which is expected to take at least a week,” the memo said. “To the extent that we meet certain participation targets, it is not expected that the names would be released at all.”

Mr. Cuomo said late Monday afternoon that he had persuaded nine of the top 10 bonus recipients to give back their bonuses and that A.I.G. employees had agreed to pay back $50 million of the $165 million in bonuses.


AIG Employees to Repay $50 Million in Bonuses
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/23/AR2009032302162.html?hpid%3Dtopnews⊂=AR

AIG Bonuses: Surrendered Under Pressure?
http://www.cnbc.com/id/29862770/

Cuomo Says Most Huge A.I.G. Bonuses Were Returned
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/23/cuomo-says-many-big-aig-bonuses-were-returned/

[rucky]

1. Except it wasn't $165 Million in bonuses...

more like 218...

http://www.latimes.com/business/hc-aig-bonuses-3021_lat,0,2706556.story

[monmouth]

2. Cuomo is very impressive...Next Governor of New York???...n/t

[Bolo Boffin]

3. Yeah, pressure

Cuomo was investigating the possibility of fraudulent (and thus invalid) contracts. If AIG promised money that they had no grounds for promising, then the contracts would have been invalid. That's fraud.

Cuomo was going to "release their names" by putting them into an indictment. But if the targets handed back enough cash to make prosecution pointless, then why would Cuomo indict (and thus release their names)?

Total bullshit on the part of CNBC. Cuomo wasn't blackmailing anyone -- he was cutting a deal. Prosecutors do it every day. The AIG employees remedied the possible harm done to the American taxpayers and in exchange for that cooperation, they walk. Sounds good to me.