Oscars debacle hovers over trial between PwC and MF Global
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NEW YORK — Jury selection in the trial between MF Global, the brokerage house run by former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, and the lauded accounting firm PwC began Monday.
What was originally a highly technical case newsworthy mostly because it involved the former governor of New Jersey has garnered additional interest from the public and media. PwC, formerly known as PricewaterhouseCoopers, was the accounting firm charged with tabulating and adjudicating the Oscars. But in an eyeball-popping mistake, PwC’s accountants gave the wrong envelope to actor presenter Warren Beatty, who announced that “La La Land” won Best Picture when it really was “Moonlight.”
Even potential jurors were not immune to the Oscar debacle. When District Court Judge Victor Marrero asked the jurors if any of them had any “strong feelings or opinions” about PwC that would impede their ability to be impartial, not directly referencing PwC’s role in the Oscars, more than a third of jurors raised their hands. When asked if any of the jurors knew or had opinions of Corzine, roughly half of the pool raised their hands.
The case finds its origins in the months leading up to and following MF Global’s sudden bankruptcy in late 2011.
