U.S. judge bars retrial of ex-Georgeson employees in bribe case
By Nate Raymond
BOSTON (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday ruled prosecutors could not retry three former employees of a firm that advises companies on shareholder votes who were accused of using bribes to learn how a proxy advisory firm's investor clients voted.
U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns in Boston barred prosecutors from retrying three former employees of Georgeson LLC, a proxy solicitation firm owned by Computershare Ltd, after an earlier trial ended in a mistrial in March.
The ex-employees - Michael Sedlak, Charles Garske and Richard Gottcent - were on trial alongside their colleague Donna Ackerly. All four had pleaded not guilty to wire fraud and honest services wire fraud charges.
Prosecutors accused them of corrupting an employee at proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services by giving him tickets to sporting events and concerts in exchange for details about how its clients voted on corporate governance proposals.
The mistrial occurred when one of the 12 jurors withdrew from the case due to a family medical emergency after prosecutors had finished presenting their evidence but before closing arguments had been delivered.
Lawyers for Sedlak, Garske and Gottcent consented to going forward with just 11 jurors. But Ackerly declined to consent, and prosecutors were only willing to go forward with 11 jurors if all four defendants agreed to that option.
Lawyers for Sedlak, Garske and Gottcent argued prosecutors made that choice just to prevent Ackerly from being severed and retried separately.
Because of that decision, defense lawyers argued prosecutors were barred from retrying their clients given the U.S. Constitution's general prohibition against being tried twice for the same crime, known as double jeopardy. Stearns agreed.
"Here, in withholding consent, the government assumed the risk that the consenting defendants' double jeopardy claim would have merit, as I find it does," Stearns wrote.
David Spears, Sedlak's lawyer, said his client was "thrilled." Justine Harris, Garske's lawyer, said he felt "vindicated and relieved to put this long ordeal behind him."
A spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said his office was reviewing the ruling.
Prosecutors said former ISS employee Brian Bennett from 2007 to 2012 supplied Sedlak with confidential information in exchange for sports and concert tickets. Sedlak then forwarded the information to Ackerly, Garske and Gottcent, prosecutors said.
Bennett testified at trial after pleading guilty. Georgeson in November agreed to pay $4.5 million and enter into a deferred prosecution agreement to resolve related charges.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and James Dalgleish)
