Elliott Broidy Pleads Guilty To Bribing NY Pension Officials

Thursday, July 08, 2010
DAVID B. CARUSO, The Huffington Post,

NEW YORK — A California venture capitalist pleaded guilty Thursday to charges that he helped his company land a lucrative deal with New York's public pension fund by giving nearly $1 million worth of illegal gifts to state officials. Markstone Capital Partners chairman Elliott Broidy made an unannounced appearance in a Manhattan courtroom to admit to a felony charge of rewarding official misconduct.

Prosecutors said the state invested $250 million in Markstone after Broidy showered them with gifts and favors, including trips, payouts to friends and relatives, and a secret investment in an obscure movie called "Chooch," produced by an official's brother.

"This is an old fashioned payoff of state officials," said New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. "This is effectively bribery of state officials, and not just one, but a number of state officials in the comptroller's office."

Broidy is the latest in a string of private equity executives and investment advisers to plead guilty in connection with Cuomo's investigation of pension fund activities during the tenure of former state Comptroller Alan Hevesi.

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Posted by Tracey on 07/08/10 at 03:14 PM • (0) Comments

Tags: corruption, bribery, pay-to-play, alan hevesi, elliott broidy, new york state pension fund scandal, broidy, markstone capital group,