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Former Hevesi aides indicted on fraud

Mon, Mar 23rd 2009 12:00 am
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo Thursday announced a wide-ranging indictment against aides to former state Comptroller Alan Hevesi on a "pay-to-play" kickback scheme.

Indicted were Henry Morris and David Loglisci, on a combined 123 charges. The 128-page indictment alleges that the two were involved in enterprise corruption, securities fraud, grand larceny, bribery and money laundering.

If convicted on the top charge of enterprise corruption, the two face a minimum of 1 to 3 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. If convicted of all the charges, Morris could face a maximum 340 years in prison, and Loglisci could face 193 years in prison.

The Securities and Exchange Commission also has charged Morris and Loglisci with multiple acts of securities fraud today.

Cuomo has frozen about $11 million worth of Morris' assets.

The indictment, which follows a two-year investigation by Cuomo's office, contends that the pair schemed to corrupt the state's pension fund, then valued at $150 billion.

Morris was a chief political adviser to Hevesi. Loglisci was the former comptroller's chief investment officer.

Loglisci is accused of steering hundreds of millions of dollars worth of investment deals to Morris and favored firms. In once case, the indictment said, he allegedly received hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of benefits in the form of sham investments for the production of a low-budget movie, "Chooch," that was made by his brother.

And an unnamed high-ranking official in the comptroller's office at the time allegedly secured from Morris and others doing business with the office gifts and bribes including cash, rent payments for his female companion's luxury Manhattan apartment, a sham $100,000 loan for her, and a job and other benefits for her daughter, the indictment said.

The indictment alleges that Morris and others corrupted billions of dollars worth of investments, noting that more than 20 investment deals were allegedly tainted by the defendants' kickback schemes and fraudulent self-dealing. The indictment listed the following investments that were allegedly tainted by Morris and Loglisci:

• The Access/NY European Fund, with almost $600 million in capital commitments from the state pension fund, allegedly generated more than $2.3 million in sham management fees for Morris and his partner. Morris's role was allegedly concealed from Access.

• The Aldus New York Emerging Fund, with $375 million in capital commitments from the state pension fund, allegedly generated $262,000 in sham management fees for Morris.

• Five investments involving The Carlyle Group, a private-equity fund, allegedly totaled about $730 million in capital commitments from the state pension fund. Morris and his partner allegedly obtained more than $13 million in sham placement fees.

• The GKM/NY Venture Capital Fund, which had $800 million in capital commitments from the state pension fund. Morris and his partner, described by Cuomo as "a political crony of Hevesi," allegedly obtained more than $650,000 in sham placement fees.

• The Olympia John Street Fund LP, a hedge fund with $900 million in capital commitments from the state pension fund, allegedly generated more than $6.6 million in fees for Morris and his partner.

• The Paladin Homeland Security Fund (NY), a $20 million private equity fund, allegedly generated $300,000 in sham placement fees for what Cuomo described as "a political crony of Hevesi." That person allegedly also received hidden fees of over $500,000 in connection with Pequot Diversified Offshore Fund/Pequot Private Equity Partners Fund IV, which had a combined commitment of $110 million from the state pension fund.

• The Strategic Co-Investment Partners, a co-investment fund with $750 million in capital commitments, the largest capital commitment by the state pension fund at the time. This allegedly generated more than $1.2 million in sham management fees for Morris' partner, with Morris as a secret partner.