Is Spitzer Preparing Marsh, Act II?
10/17/2004 By GRETCHEN MORGENSEN Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL October 17, 2004 Is Spitzer Preparing Marsh, Act II? Like the universe itself, corporate chicanery just seems to keep on expanding. Unlike earlier versions, however, the latest scandals tend to implicate not just individual companies but entire industries. In last week’s revelations, courtesy of a civil suit filed last week by Eliot Spitzer, the New York attorney general, the insurance industry got its turn. Stocks of major players in the industry have been hammered and investors are rightly wondering where the next bombshell might fall. Mr. Spitzer’s suit, which detonated Thursday, was filed against Marsh Inc., whose parent, Marsh & McLennan, also owns Putnam Investments and Mercer Inc., the consulting unit. The suit was a shocker even to industry veterans because it disclosed Mr. Spitzer’s findings of phony bids designed to direct business to certain insurers and to keep insurance rates high. The suit said A.I
