Gary Winnick of Global Crossing is the ace of hearts. And Enron’s Kenneth Lay is the ace of spades.
Borrowing from the U.S. military’s playing cards featuring an Iraqi rogues’ gallery, Nadira Brandenburg of Ogden, Utah, and her husband, Lynn, a Prudential Securities broker, set up a company to market 10,000 decks of “shareholders’ most wanted” cards highlighting U.S. corporate wrongdoers, including the four CEOs. Each card bears a “Wanted” posterstyle bill of indictments on the front. Going for $9.99 apiece (plus $2 shipping), the 54-card decks are sold over the Internet at shareholdersmostwanted.com.
Winnick, for one, is none too pleased. His attorney, Patricia Glaser, a partner in the high-powered Los Angeles firm of O.J. Simpson defender Robert Shapiro, fired off a letter threatening to sue Lynn Brandenburg unless he pulled the Winnick card. Just before the letter went out, however, the broker resigned from the card company at Prudential’s behest.
That leaves his wife to face Winnick’s wrath. But 42-year-old Nadira Brandenburg, a former auditor for Salt Lake City and Bankers Trust Co., is not folding. “They’re going to sue me now,” she vows, “but I’m not going to cease and desist.” She says of the cards: “Absolutely nothing is incorrect. It was very understated.”
Lynn Brandenburg’s attorney, Bruce Pritchett, says that he’s out of the firing line because he severed his ties to the venture and that Nadira can probably count on being shielded by her corporation.
“We just want to get back some of our money,” Nadira says, “and we want justice to be done.” Some 2,000 decks have been sold.
She is considering a countersuit but hints that she’d be willing to settle. “Maybe Gary Winnick needs to pay us for the 10,000 decks,” she says. “We won’t charge him shipping and handling.”
