Fund Manager Accused of Taking Kickbacks

New York pension fund manager Alan B. Bond was charged by U.S. authorities with taking nearly $7 million in kickbacks from brokerage firms in connection with his management of retirement accounts belonging to National Basketball Assn. players and other clients. An 11-count federal indictment charged that he used his clients’ accounts to trade with brokerage firms connected with his friend, Robert Spruill. The firms then kicked back $6.9 million to the 38-year-old money manager, which he used to pay for home renovations, beachfront condominiums and antique and luxury cars, authorities charged. Bond will plead not guilty, said his lawyer, John Siffert. If convicted, Bond faces up to 55 years in prison. Spruill, formerly a broker with Manhattan’s Brenner Securities and Lintz Glover White & Co. as well as Value Investing Partners Inc. of Westport, Conn., faces up to 10 years. A frequent guest on Louis Rukeyser’s “Wall Street Week” television show, Bond is one of the country’s most prominent black money managers.