P.M. BRIEFING : Bar on Drexel Settlement Upheld
<i> From Times wire services </i>
NEW YORK —
A federal appeals court today refused to lift a stay that bars a lower court from approving Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc.’s civil securities fraud settlement.
The appeals court ruling prevents U.S. District Judge Milton Pollack from approving Drexel’s settlement last week of civil charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also erects another legal roadblock preventing a final resolution of criminal charges against the investment banking giant.
The plea bargain Drexel struck with federal prosecutors in the criminal case, which requires the firm to plead guilty to six felony counts and pay a record $650 million in penalties and fines, is contingent on the SEC settlement.
