NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two former Bear Stearns Cos hedge fund managers were acquitted on Tuesday of fraud charges in the first criminal trial of prominent Wall Street executives stemming from subprime mortgage securities that fueled a market meltdown. A jury in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, reached its verdict in the month-long trial of hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi, 53, and Matthew Tannin, 48, after less than six hours of deliberations. "I'm happy," Cioffi said, as the families of both men shed tears of relief after the verdict was read. The verdict is a blow for government prosecutors and could have implications for government investigations of possible wrongdoing at other companies at the center of the global financial crisis, including bailed-out giant insurer American International Group Inc and the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two former Bear Stearns Cos hedge fund managers were acquitted on Tuesday of fraud charges in the first criminal trial of prominent Wall Street executives stemming from subprime mortgage securities that fueled a market meltdown.
A jury in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, reached its verdict in the month-long trial of hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi, 53, and Matthew Tannin, 48, after less than six hours of deliberations.
"I'm happy," Cioffi said, as the families of both men shed tears of relief after the verdict was read.
The verdict is a blow for government prosecutors and could have implications for government investigations of possible wrongdoing at other companies at the center of the global financial crisis, including bailed-out giant insurer American International Group Inc and the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
