Bear Stearns Broker Quits After Recounting High Life in Article
New York, April 3 (Bloomberg) -- Lee Munson, a 25-year-old
stockbroker who boasted of his partying and expensive lifestyle in
a front-page newspaper article, left Bear Stearns Cos.
``I did resign from Bear Stearns to pursue other
opportunities in finance that are far more creative than what I
had been doing,'' said Munson, who started working at the firm in
November 2000. ``This really set me free.''
Munson, profiled in the April 3 New York Observer, said he
made more than $350,000 last year. ``There's only one thing that
you could do, other than being a drug dealer'' to make that much
money legally and ethically, Munson was quoted as saying.
``Selling stock.''
Munson said in the article he was one of the ``top 5 to 10
percent'' of brokers at his firm, which was not named in the
story. He made more in a single day than average people ``make in
a year,'' he said. He went on to recount a ``rock star'' lifestyle
of drinking Cristal champagne, eating out at fancy restaurants
such as Tribeca's Nobu ``on a weekly basis,'' and getting kicked
out of bars.
In an interview, Munson said that some of his comments were
taken out of context. His expletive-laden quotes filled 40 of the
article's 57 paragraphs.
He worked at Bear Stearns's main office on 245 Park Ave.,
handling wealthy clients, many of whom he said he brought with him
to Bear Stearns.
Other Offers
``I only deal with people with more than $1 million in the
market unless they're friends and family,'' Munson said in an
interview. ``Less than that and I think it's more appropriate for
them to buy'' mutual funds.
Munson said he has offers for new jobs, though he declined to
specify where, and his roster of clients will come with him. A
native of Modesto, California, Munson is a graduate of St. John's
College, a liberal arts college in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Bear Stearns officials declined to comment.
Munson is the latest young broker to pursue new work after
boasting about their jobs and lifestyle in the press.
Philip Potter, a 25-year-old Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co.
broker, was quoted in an October 1997 New York Times article
describing his Rolex watch and custom-made suits. He resigned the
day after the story appeared.
PaineWebber Inc. in November 1995 fired broker Whitney
Boucher after he was quoted in a magazine article making
disparaging remarks about his clients, PaineWebber brokers and the
firm's mutual funds and research.
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