Broadcom In the News
Originally published In The News 7/ 13/07
A slew of huge stock buyback announcements, earnings from GE and a ramp in the market make for enough news flow to sate any hard core market junkie. But today’s Bizarro news comes from a dusty office suite at chip maker Broadcom (BRCM-NASDAQ). Henry Nicholas cut quite a dashing figure at the turn of the century. Rich and thin for sure, but also a bit unorthodox as he crafted an image not unlike that of Jason Giambi. Henry was a badass, claiming to need little sleep and famous for late night weight lifting sessions accompanied by the music of Metallica. He was more jacked up than the stock, and a poster boy for hard charging executives. However, music might not have been his only vice:
The stock option probe at Broadcom has taken an odd turn, with the focus shifting to the chipmaker’s ex-CEO Henry T. Nicholas for alleged drug use and other excesses, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Kenji Kato, a former personal assistant and bodyguard to Nicholas, filed a civil lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court earlier this year claiming Nicholas forced him to use illegal narcotics and said his former boss spiked the drinks of clients and offered prostitutes to customers, the newspaper said.
“I would see him put powdered ecstasy pills into the drinks of his customers,” the Journal said Kato claims in a court declaration. “Other times, when we were at trade shows in Las Vegas, it was normal for Nick to request and send prostitutes to his customers to entertain them.” CNNMoney.com
Ludicrous allegations? Perhaps. But the ongoing option backdating scandal is no joke. Henry took no prisoners. Soon he might be one.
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