Witness Says Tobacco Firms Need Monitoring

A Justice Department witness testified that U.S. cigarette makers should be placed under court-appointed monitors with the authority to recommend removal of management and changes to their compensation.

Harvard Business School professor Max Bazerman testified in a civil racketeering trial in Washington that the industry was unlikely to stop what the government claims is fraudulent conduct unless there are structural changes.

Bazerman’s testimony is part of the government’s attempt to persuade U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler to order cigarette makers to fund a $130-billion smoking cessation plan.