Some of the salacious details of Broadcom co-founder Henry T. Nicholas III emerged in indictments that were released yesterday.
The Associated Press reported that Nicholas was indicted on federal narcotics charges, which included allegations that he put ecstasy into the drinks of business associates, used bribes and death threats to conceal his illegal conduct, and maintained a drug warehouse.
In addition to the drug charges, Nicholas is accused of committing securities fraud, conspiracy and other violations while he led the chip company.
Because of Nicholas’ alleged actions, Broadcom was forced to write down its profits by $2.2 billion last year.
Yesterday, a judge released Nicholas on $3.3 million bail, while also ordering random drug tests and weapon searches, home detention and electronic monitoring. Nicholas’ two private planes were also ordered disabled by the judge.
While Nicholas did not enter a plea yesterday, his arraignment hearing was set for June 16. Former Broadcom CFO William Ruehle was also indicted on stock-option backdating, but he does not face any drug-related charges.
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• Cablevision comes to terms on options-backdating lawsuit
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• Martin’s free, wireless high-speed Internet service delayed
• Arris garners PacketCable compliance from CableLabs for E-MTA
• Sony bringing YouTube videos to some LCD flat-panel TVs
• Broadcom co-founder faces drug, conspiracy, securities fraud charges
