IN BRIEF : Fed Rate Leak Suspect Arraigned
Former New York Federal Reserve Bank Director Robert A. Rough pleaded innocent today during his arraignment before U.S. District Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise--one week after being indicted by a federal grand jury.
Rough was accused of leaking information on the discount rate set by the Federal Reserve Bank in Washington to principals at Bevill, Bresler & Schulman Inc., a brokerage firm in Livingston, N.J., that later collapsed.
The government alleged that Bevill, Bresler made millions of dollars and avoided millions in losses because of the information, which Rough allegedly exchanged for $47,000 in interest-free loans.
Rough’s attorney, Michael Himmel, said he would need time to review thousands of transactions by the firm, which collapsed in April, 1985.
Debevoise set Rough’s bail at a $150,000 personal recognizance bond today. A hearing on pretrial motions was set for Feb. 14, and trial was scheduled for Feb. 21.
Authorities have called Rough’s case the first insider trading involving government securities and the Federal Reserve system.
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