Ex-NYSE chief sues exchange for $50m

Former New York Stock Exchange chief Richard A Grasso lashed back at the exchange yesterday, suing it for at least $50 million, claiming breach of contract and defamation on the part of current NYSE chairman John Reed.

In the countersuit, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, Mr Grasso claims the NYSE breached its contract with him by withholding “tens of millions of dollars” in additional salary, and by “maliciously disparaging him through Mr Reed’s false and defamatory statements.” Mr Grasso is also seeking the dismissal of part of a lawsuit by state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who is seeking the return of the bulk of the $187.5 million compensation package that led to Mr Grasso’s resignation last September.