Former Fleishman Hillard Execs Appeal Convictions

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Former Fleishman-Hillard (F-H) public relations executives Doug Dowie and John Stodder are appealing their conviction for overbilling the city of Los Angeles on contracts with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Ted Rohrlich reports that "Stodder contends that prosecutors failed to disclose that Monique Moret, another Fleishman-Hillard employee who testified against him under a grant of immunity, had 'a strong reason' to tell prosecutors what they wanted to hear: protecting her father from possible prosecution in another case." The claim has been rejected by the U.S. attorney's office, with a spokesman stating that prosecutors were unaware of any connection between the cases. In 2006 Stodder and Dowie were respectively sentenced to serve 15 months and 3 1/2 years in prison but both were granted bail pending an appeal. Dowie is reported to be set to appeal on the same grounds as Stodder.