Who are the Dewey employees who already pleaded guilty?
The New York Times has filed motions to unseal the criminal cases of six former employees of Dewey & LeBoeuf who have already pleaded guilty in an alleged accounting scheme.
Seven former Dewey employees pleaded guilty, but the Times was able to find cases of only six Jane and John Does who appear to have entered guilty pleas in the case, according to the New York Times DealBook blog. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance revealed the guilty pleas, without naming the defendants, when he announced the indictments of former Dewey chairman Steven Davis, former executive director Stephen DiCarmine and two others in an alleged scheme to “cook the books” and defraud lenders.
Lawyers interviewed by the Times said it’s unusual in a white-collar accounting fraud case for a prosecutor to keep secret the names of those who have pleaded guilty after indictments against the major targets are announced. Such tactics are more often used in cases involving organized crime or undercover investigations.
The Times spoke with people briefed on the matter, who identified three of the former Dewey employees who have reportedly entered guilty pleas. According to the Times, they are former finance director Francis Canellas, former controller Thomas Mullikin, and former budgeting and planning director Ilya Alter. Canellas and Mullikin are named as defendants in a related suit by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Lawyers for the three declined to comment, according to the Times. Mullikin was a controller for Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, but his employment ended a few days ago, a spokesperson told the Times.
