Recent Posts in Conspiracy Category

United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney dismissed all charges against Broadcom Corp.'s former Chief Financial Officer William J. Ruehle, who was charged with 14 counts of Fraud, Conspiracy, falsifying Broadcom's books and lying to securities regulators, based on the Judge's finding that that there had been prosecutorial misconduct in the case.

Federal prosecutors allege that Ruehle conspired with the Irvine chip company's co-founders, Henry Samueli and Henry T. Nicholas III, to backdate employee stock options -- making them more valuable -- without disclosing the compensation in regulatory filings.

The judge acquitted Ruehle after determining that prosecutors tried to influence the testimony of three key witnesses, improperly contacted witnesses' attorneys and leaked information about grand jury proceedings to the media.

Judge Carney also dismissed the government's narcotics case against Broadcom's co-founder and CEO, Henry T. Nicholas. It was alleged that Nicholas hired prostitutes for himself and customers, drugged business associates, kept a warehouse to store illicit drugs and distributed cocaine, methamphetamine and ecstasy to his clients, co-workers and friends. The indictment stated that in 2001, Nicholas smoked so much marijuana on his private jet that his pilot was forced to don an oxygen mask.