| As part of his duties, [Evan G. Greenberg] oversaw AIG's auto warranty business, which turned into a "disastrous" investment resulting in a $210 million loss by 1999, according to a civil fraud suit filed by [Eliot L. Spitzer] against AIG last month. In lengthy litigation brought in 1999 against AIG by a claims adjuster, Warrantech Automotive of Bedford, Tex., Evan Greenberg testified in a 2001 deposition that his father held him responsible for the debacle. Founded in 1985 to fill an underserved market insuring against large corporate losses, known as excess casualty, the company went on to mimic AIG's core business, commercial underwriting, and became one of the few to compete with AIG both in the United States and globally. The rivalry heated up in 1994, when a top AIG executive and protege of [Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg], Brian Duperreault, left AIG to head Ace, taking several AIG executives with him. Maurice Greenberg often disparaged Ace to investors and analysts, sarcastically asking if it was "some kind of bandage," according to people who heard him. [Susan Rivera] was also mentioned in a settlement agreement signed in April by Spitzer and Willis Group Holdings Ltd., another New York brokerage. Spitzer alleged that a former Willis official "personally convinced" Rivera to send him "fraudulent e-mails" to justify a $500,000 payment from Ace to Willis. The payment was a "contingent commission" intended to prod Willis to steer corporate clients to "favored" insurance companies, Spitzer alleged. A Willis spokesman declined to comment; the company paid $50 million to settle the investigation without a lawsuit being filed. Barry Ostrager, a lawyer for Rivera, said his client did nothing wrong and that the Spitzer allegations are a "mischaracterization of the historical facts." hide... |