Grasso Avoids SEC Questions
Former New York Stock Exchange Chief Executive Richard Grasso refused to answer questions on oversight at the Big Board, citing his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination, a deputy for New York Atty. Gen. Eliot Spitzer said in court Thursday.
Assistant Atty. Gen. Avi Schick said Grasso was being questioned at the time by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Schick spoke at a pretrial hearing for Spitzer’s lawsuit to recover part of the $190-million pay package Grasso received as head of the NYSE.
“He was questioned in connection with an investigation into illegal trading activity,” Schick told reporters after the hearing. Grasso was “asked about his knowledge of specialists’ illegal activities.”
Grasso’s lawyer, Gerson Zweifach, told the court, “It’s a private matter involving stock trading and we’re not at liberty to react.”
During the hearing before New York State Supreme Court Judge Charles Ramos, Schick said the SEC’s questions concerned NYSE regulatory oversight. NYSE specialists buy and sell stocks on the exchange floor.
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