Martin A Siegel

American attorney with a dazzling career until he crashed in a scandal of fraud and graft. The son of a shoe salesman, Siegel was an achiever from the time he was born, the first of four kids. He graduated with honors from high school and worked to help put himself through college. He graduated in 1969 with a degree in chemical engineering but then re-appraised his position and entered Harvard Business School. Siegel became an expert in takeover defense, the renowned guardian of companies faced with attackers, his salary going from $16,000 to $2 million a year with bonuses. He married Jane Day Stuart, an investment banker in 1979 and they had a daughter in 1981 and twins in 1985. For recreation he enjoyed scuba diving, sci-fi novels, tennis and a cold beer. By the age of 38 he had it all, power, wealth, movie-star good looks - and was a convicted felon. The SEC (Securities Exchange Commission) charged that Siegel illegally gave non-public information to Ivan Boesky, leading to insider trading in exchange for a cut in profits. The total payments were $700,000, 1982-84, and charges of guilty were delivered on 2/13/1987. Read less