Word: myerson
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Short, chunky and menacingly combative, Harvey Myerson is one of the country's most talented trial lawyers. But according to charges that will be heard in Brooklyn's federal courthouse next week, he is also one of the most tainted. After building a reputation representing the likes of Donald Trump, Shearson Lehman and former Treasury Secretary William Simon, Myerson stands accused of swindling $3.5 million from clients and partners and faces as much as 20 years in prison. Said prosecutor Sean O'Shea after the initial indictment last year: "We have here an unprecedented pattern of greed and dishonesty...
...Myerson, 52, the charges signal a precipitous fall from grace. And as in Greek tragedy, his fate seems the result of a fundamental character flaw. Despite a hefty draw of $1.4 million from his $400-an-hour rate at the prestigious New York law firm of Myerson & Kuhn, Myerson's profligate life- style -- featuring Ferraris and Rolls-Royces, five homes, 20th century art and foot-long Cuban cigars -- called for even more. In 1988, for example, Myerson took family members on a chartered-jet vacation to Maine -- and allegedly billed client Shearson Lehman (without the firm's knowledge...
...Myerson apparently saved his best treats for a string of mistresses. In 1989 a top New York model joined him at the Kentucky Derby. According to the indictment, clients Kelley Oil and ICN Pharmaceuticals picked up the tab. Another model received an $86,000 Cartier ring and a $24,000 full-length mink, courtesy of Myerson's unsuspecting law partners. To attract prospective lovers, sources say, Myerson liked to pose as a movie producer and "audition" young agency models in his office. "To Myerson, there is just no distinction between persuading a jury and persuading his wife or clients...
...courtroom, Myerson has been a master at proving deception in others, regularly badgering witnesses into submission and throwing himself shamelessly at juries. "Please God, find for us. God bless you," he begged jurors at the 1986 conclusion of his most famous case, an antitrust action brought by the upstart U.S. Football League against the monopolistic practices of the National Football League. Myerson and the U.S.F.L. won -- but they received a humiliating $3 in damages and the lesson that even courtroom victories are no guarantee of riches...
...Philadelphia silk wholesaler, Myerson made his mark in the 1970s at the venerable New York law firm of Webster & Sheffield. But his craving for power and wealth caused constant friction with partners, many of whom were relieved when Myerson was wooed away in 1984 by Finley, Kumble, an aggressive 700-lawyer firm that became synonymous with '80s-style greed...