.SHADY BROKER BACKS SPITZER
nypost.com
By LAURA PETRECCA
February 20, 2005 --
A stockbroker with a murky past has opened his checkbook for Wall Street crusader Eliot Spitzer's bid for the governor.
Ross H. Mandell's securities record includes a raft of investor complaints — but Spitzer's camp still accepted a $10,000 donation from Mandell's company Sky Capital.
Global Secure, a homeland security firm where Mandell is chairman, also donated $5,000, according to state records.
The past charges against Mandell are the type of misconduct that has attracted the ire of Attorney General Spitzer as he shores up the financial industry.
NASD records show seven customer complaints. NASD files also list five regulatory actions — including one from the mid-'90s when a New York Stock Exchange panel censured Mandell for trading customers' stocks without their knowledge.
More than 90 percent of brokers regulated by the NASD have no such disclosure events on their records.
Mandell, founder and CEO of the financial services firm Sky Capital, didn't return phone calls for comment. Sky Capital and its far-flung subsidiaries offer up diverse services such as equity and fixed-income trading, research and venture capital.
While not admitting guilt, Mandell has said in past interviews that he battled substance use in the years most of the charges occurred and has since cleaned up. NASD records show the majority of complaints reported against Mandell occurred before 1991, but some surfaced in years since.
Spitzer's spokesman said campaign officials vetted Mandell's contribution and determined there was no need to return the money.
"Mr. Mandell is a prominent businessman and as far as we can tell his problems are in the past," he said.
The spokesman added that Spitzer has a stringent process in place to weed out money from questionable donors or those with potential conflicts of interest.
While Sky Capital's donations didn't raise any red flags for Spitzer, some of they company's top execs have checkered pasts.
James Crimi, a director at the London office, faced misconduct allegations about stock sales. He didn't admit to any wrongdoing, but settled the case.
Former Sky Capital institutional sales director Ray Dirks has five regulatory actions and two customer complaints on his NASD file.
Two of Sky Capital's top executives have had tax liens or judgements against them and one has filed for personal bankruptcy, according to a Post background check.
Spitzer knows Mandell through the stockbroker's brother, who is an editor at the Jerusalem Post. The attorney general also met Mandell through former U.S. Senator Larry Pressler. Pressler, a non-executive director at Sky Capital, and Mandell attended a birthday bash for Spitzer last June.
In recent years, Sky Capital and Global Secure have lured in other high-profile politicians. Former congressman (and pro basketball player) C. Thomas McMillen was a chairman at Sky Capital and helped to co-found Global Secure.
Global Secure's advisory board includes former congressman Dick Armey, former New York City Police Commissioner Howard Safir and Mark Holman, a former director to ex-homeland security chief Tom Ridge. |
