Carefull TRAV you're next: "Bail Reduced For Duke & Co Chmn, But He'll Stay In Jail
By Michael Rapoport
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--A state-court judge reduced bail Thursday
for the chairman of the now-defunct brokerage firm Duke & Co.
over stock-fraud charges, but his attorney says he still won't
be able to meet it and get out of jail.
Judge William Wetzel reduced Victor Wang's bail to $850,000
from the previous $1.25 million. He also said Wang could meet
up to $350,000 of the amount by posting property he and his family
own, instead of having to put up the full amount in cash, as was
previously the case.
But Lawrence Carra, Wang's attorney, said the new figure is
still too high for Wang to meet, and so he will have to stay in
custody. "It's an unrealistic amount tantamount to no bail at
all," he said after the hearing.
Meanwhile, Carra hinted he is still in discussions with federal
prosecutors, who have seized custody of Wang in a tug-of-war between
the feds and state prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney's
office. Wang is under indictment on state charges filed by D.A.
Robert Morgenthau's office, but federal prosecutors from Brooklyn,
N.Y., swooped in and took custody of Wang themselves last month
without notifying Morgenthau first.
The federal prosecutors haven't explained why they want Wang.
But prosecutors from the D.A.'s office have indicated they believe
Wang approached the feds to try to cut a better deal for himself
than he would get in the D.A.'s case - a deal under which he would
plead guilty to federal charges in exchange for a more lenient
sentence. Such a deal could block the D.A.'s office from proceeding
with its own case against Wang.
Carra refused to comment on any talks he might be having with
federal prosecutors, but said that "we're considering all viable
alternatives at this juncture." Asked if he had reached a deal
with the feds, he said, "Not yet."
Wang and 17 other Duke employees face state charges of defrauding
the firm's customers out of tens of millions of dollars by inflating
the prices of Duke-underwritten stocks. All the defendants have
pleaded not guilty; four other Duke brokers pleaded guilty before
the indictment was brought.
While the feds are still holding Wang in a Brooklyn correctional
center, they released him briefly back to the state's custody
so that he could attend the bail hearing, Carra said.
Prosecutors from the D.A.'s office didn't say much during the
hearing about their turf battle with the feds, but the subject
did come up once. Wetzel said that if Wang were "across the street"
- an apparent reference to federal court, which in Manhattan is
near New York's state-court buildings - he'd receive a lower bail
package.
Replied Assistant District Attorney Richard Preiss: "Figuratively
speaking, he's already across the street."
- Michael Rapoport, 212-227-2017, michael.rapoport@cor.dowjones.com |
