Judge to former Merrill CEO: Thains for the memories!
New York State Supreme Court Justice Bernard Fried ruled that John Thain, former CEO of Merrill Lynch, was permitted to disclose information about bonus payments that went out prior to the Merrill-Bank of America merger. Previously, Thain had claimed that an agreement with Bank of America restrained him from answering questions about employees who received the $3.6 billion in bonus payments that he fast tracked before BOA's January takeover. Thain is expected to answer New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's questions this afternoon.
Although it's been over a month since John Thain resigned from his post at Bank of America, he's rarely been far from the headlines. Following the merger of Merrill Lynch and BOA, and the subsequent revelation that he fast-tracked bonus payments to Merrill employees, he has become a lightning rod for anger about corporate greed. Between the $10 million bonus that he allegedly angled for, his $1.22 million office redecoration, and the $3.6 billion in Merrill bonuses, he has rarely been far from the headlines, and the comments about him have rarely been good.
