Lawyer Melvyn Weiss free on $1 million bond

By Dana Ford

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Melvyn Weiss, a pioneer of high-stakes shareholder litigation, posted $1 million bond in a Los Angeles federal court ahead of a Monday hearing where he is expected to plead innocent on conspiracy charges.

The 72-year old co-founder of New York-based law firm Milberg Weiss was indicted last month for allegedly helping to steer secret payments to people who agreed to serve as plaintiffs in class-action suits.

He is charged with four counts of conspiracy, racketeering, obstruction of justice and making false statements. If convicted, he faces up to 40 years in prison.

Weiss is set to go on trial in January along with his firm, former client Seymour Lazar and attorney Paul Selzer. He is accused of paying kickbacks in about 250 cases, raking in $250 million in fees for his firm over 25 years.

Weiss is best known for landing more than $1 billion in settlement for investors hurt by the Drexel Burnham Lambert junk bond scandal in the 1980s.

Magistrate Judge Charles Eick also told Weiss to surrender his passport and give notification before traveling inside the continental United States for more than 72 hours. He can travel freely between New York, California, Florida and Washington D.C.

Weiss was told to make a $1 million cash deposit, with the understanding he would pay an additional $500,000 if he failed to show up at his court appearance on Monday.

Weiss plans to fight the charges, plead not guilty and "is confident he will be acquitted after trial," according to a statement released on Friday by Weiss's lawyer.

The charges stem from a long-running investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles into allegations the New York firm maintained a "stable" of paid plaintiffs to populate its class action lawsuits.

Weiss and former Milberg partner Bill Lerach, who left the firm in 2004 to form his own firm in San Diego, were long believed to be the targets of the wide-ranging investigation. Lerach has agreed to plead guilty later this month, but will not cooperate with the government.

Two other former Milberg senior partners have pleaded guilty to making illegal kickbacks to clients and are cooperating with prosecutors.

(Additional reporting by Gina Keating)