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To: Les H who wrote (87725)	3/29/2001 6:35:17 PM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 436258

Interesting Message 15585119 Message 15584386

To: Les H who wrote (87725)	3/29/2001 9:24:37 PM
From: Les H	Respond to of 436258

Broker offered prostitutes to officials - Calif. county SAN BERNARDINO, Calif., March 29 (Reuters) - A former Solomon Smith Barney broker offered call girls to three former county officials to attract lucrative securities business, the county has alleged in its amended $30 million lawsuit against the investment bank. The amended lawsuit, filed last Friday, alleges that broker Peter Morrison, who is no longer with the firm, also lavished free trips, cash and expensive meals on three former county officials in an illegal exchange for business. "Basically it is just fine tuning the (original) lawsuit and adding the new allegation of call girls," San Bernardino County Treasurer Dick Larsen said Thursday. A spokeswoman for Citigroup Inc.'s <C.N> Salomon Smith Barney said she could not comment specifically on the lawsuit, while Morrison's attorney was out of town and could not be reached. "We continue to believe we have no liability," Arda Nazerian said in a telephone interview. "As a matter of policy we don't comment on specific unsupported allegations." San Bernardino's lawsuit against the investment bank last August came less than a year after federal authorities indicted seven former county officials, contractors, and consultants in a criminal corruption case. The three former officials in the current lawsuit all pleaded guilty to bribery charges resulting from a another scheme in which a number of individuals and firms provided county officials with gifts and favors in return for business. Named in the lawsuit were ex-county administrative officer James Hlawek, former treasurer Thomas O'Donnell and ex-investment officer Sol Levin as well as Morrison, a former senior vice president of Solomon Smith Barney in Newport Beach, Calif. According to the lawsuit, the three former county officials directed more than $7.5 billion in securities transactions to Morrison and Salomon Smith Barney from 1992 to 1998. But the county alleges that some of these transactions were either illegal or risky and cost millions because the county could have put its money in better investments. During this period assets in the county's investment pool ranged from $1.2 billion to $1.9 billion. The lawsuit also alleges that in March 1994, San Bernardino County lost more than $648,000 on the investments because of interest rate hikes. Despite that, O'Donnell and Levin poured more money into the funds on Morrison's recommendations and continued to hold the investments despite increasing losses, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit alleges that in pressing two of the former county officials to direct business his way, Morrison told them if he could get $200 million of county assets his firm would consider him a "hero." Morrison allegedly then financed international trips for the former county officials to places like London, Costa Rica and Greece as well as paying for their meals in expensive restaurants and for visits to Disneyland, the lawsuit charges.