Grasso Ordered to Pay Back Around $100 Million
A New York Supreme Court has ordered Richard Grasso to pay back around $100 million he received in compensation while serving as chairman of the New York Stock Exchange in 2003. The order, issued October 19, 2006, granted partial summary judgment to New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who started this lawsuit against Grasso in 2004. The order found that Grasso breached his fiduciary duties owed to the NYSE's board of directors by not disclosing to the board that increases in his pay would result in his Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan ("SERP") skyrocketing. Grasso's 2003 pay package was $187.50 million. Presiding Judge Charles Ramos found Grasso's defense that he was ignorant about the true value of his SERP shocking. The case is People of the State of New York v. Grasso et al., case number 401620/04. Grasso has filed an appeal challenging the judge's ruling.
