North Cove Ventures LLC and Former Connecticut State Senator DiBella Found Liable For Aiding And Abetting Fraudulent Investment Scheme

A federal jury has found former Connecticut State Senator William A. DiBella and consulting firm North Cove Ventures LLC liable for aiding and abetting a fraudulent investment scam.

The scheme involves former Connecticut State Treasurer Paul Silvester, who had invested $75 million in state pension funds with private equity firm Thayer Capital Partners. The former state treasurer allegedly fixed it so that Thayer would pay Mr. DiBella a percentage of the investment even though he didn’t do anything to warrant being paid.

The SEC says that in November 1998, Silvester asked Thayer to hire DiBella. The private equity firm allegedly consented to the hire and paying DiBella the percentage fee even though he did no work for it. Silvester allegedly added at least another $25 million to the pension fund’s investment just to get a larger fee for DiBella, who ended up receiving nearly $375,000.

Although Silvester settled the SEC’s charges nearly seven years ago, the SEC did not charge DiBella until 2004. DiBella had unsuccessfully tried getting the charges dismissed. The verdict against DiBella was returned last month following a seven-day trial in front of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. The jury ruled that DiBella was liable for aiding and abetting Silvester’s violations of antifraud provisions belonging to the 1940 Investment Advisers Act and 1934 Securities Exchange Act. Sanctions will be entered by the court at a later date.

If you have been the victim of securities fraud, you should contact Shepherd Smith and Edwards right away. We have helped thousands of investors recover their losses. We would like you to contact our law firm for a free consultation with one of our experienced securities fraud attorneys.

Jury Finds William DiBella, Former Majority Leader of the Connecticut State Senate, Liable for Aiding and Abetting Securities Fraud, SEC.gov, May 30, 2007
Conn. jury convicts ex-politician for taking fee, Reuters.com, May 30, 2007