Dewey finance department was overwhelmed and sloppy, ex-COO says; defense is buoyed by statements
Dennis D’Alessandro, the former chief operating officer of Dewey & LeBoeuf, told prosecutors the finance department was understaffed, overworked and sloppy, but he was unaware of anything being withheld from auditors.
A prosecutor’s letter summarizing D’Alessandro’s statements was turned over to defense lawyers in late February, about two months before the trial of three Dewey leaders, the New York Law Journal (sub. req.) reports.
The three leaders, who are charged with an alleged scheme to “cook the books” and defraud lenders, are former Dewey chairman Steven Davis, former executive director Stephen DiCarmine and former chief financial officer Joel Sanders. The law firm collapsed in May 2012.
D’Alessandro said that before his retirement in mid-2011, nothing led him to believe the law firm was doing anything illegal or improper.
Prosecutors asked D’Alessandro about an email by Sanders saying technology improvements were made without his knowledge. Sanders allegedly said, “I don’t know anything about [the contracts] and I don’t want to cook the books anymore. We need to stop doing that.”
D’Alessandro said Sanders’ reference to cooking the books was a “wacky comment” by Sanders, according to the prosecutors’ letter. “It was an example of defendant Sanders being dramatic and speaking in platitudes. Dennis D’Alessandro did not think that they were doing anything illegal,” the letter said.
Lawyers for the three defendants told the New York Law Journal the information was helpful to their clients, who committed no crimes. “This exculpatory material should have been given to us months ago, and I’m glad that at long last it’s a matter of public record,” said Bryan Cave partner Austin Campriello, who represents DiCarmine, in a statement to the New York Law Journal.
Related article:
ABA Journal: “How Dewey management’s rosy picture masked an ugly truth”
