Les Trager, a lawyer at Morley & Trager in New York, represented Mulder. He said his client had been let down not only by his firm, but also by the SEC, which he had told of Hanna's violations.
An official at the SEC declined to comment.
Although Cheevers declined to comment on his termination from Bank of Montreal, his wrongful termination case states his side of the story. According to the complaint and internal e-mail messages from the bank, Cheevers was asked by Michael Andres, an investment banker, to make an extensive report he had written in March 2001 on the radio industry "more bullish."
Andres wrote: "We accomplish nothing marketing-wise by being negative about prospects for industry." He added: "Our research should have a stronger positive emphasis on medium-sized radio operators as these will ultimately be our high-yield clients."
According to his complaint, Cheevers declined to comply and complained to his boss, who did not respond, and to the bank's compliance department.
In April, the bank's investment bankers killed Cheevers' report, and Robert Bade, head of US compliance for the bank, asked Cheevers what happened.
In an e-mail message, Bade wrote, "There may be some serious securities law considerations here."
But by the next month, nothing had been done, and on June 7, 2001, Cheevers was terminated. The reason given, as in Mulder's case, was downsizing. But according to his complaint, Cheevers was the only person fired and a person who reported to him was given his job.
Gary Friedman, partner at Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw in New York City, represents Bank of Montreal in the matter.
He said that Cheevers' allegations were thoroughly investigated by the company after his termination and found to be meritless. "Bank of Montreal Nesbitt Burns Corp. intends to defend against them vigorously," he said.
Trager said one way to ensure that companies could not fire compliance employees for pointing out violations was to require the SEC to interview every compliance professional who is ever fired.
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