March 09, 2006
The Federal government has filed a motion to intervene in a whistleblower suit against Mario Gabelli and his firm.
The suit, brought under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, alleges that the money manager used sham companies to bid for FCC cellphone licenses at a discount under rules favoring minority and small businesses, then sold the licenses at a profit.
The whistle-blower, Russell C. Taylor III, is represented by the law firm of Phillips & Cohen.
Developments in the suit were reported on in the March 9, 2006 edition of the New York Times (registration required).