As expected, Cablevision Systems Corp. named former AOL Time Warner Inc.
deputy general counsel Jonathan Schwartz to head up its legal affairs.
According to a press release, Schwartz was named executive vice president and
general counsel Monday. He will report directly to Cablevision CEO James
Dolan.
Prior to joining AOL Time Warner, Schwartz had been general counsel for
Napster Inc. Before that, he had served as principal associate deputy attorney
general for the U.S. Justice Department in Washington, D.C. He had also served
as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan.
Schwartz succeeds Robert Lemle, who headed Cablevision’s legal department for
more than 20 years. Lemle left Cablevision at the end of 2002 and continues to
serve as a consultant to the Bethpage, N.Y.-based MSO.
Schwartz’s government expertise will come in handy as Cablevision winds
through investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and by the U.S.
Attorney in Brooklyn, N.Y., after accounting irregularities at its AMC cable
channel were uncovered in June. Cablevision has been cooperating fully with the
investigations.
As a result of those irregularities -- mainly improper expense accruals --
Cablevision fired 14 employees at AMC, including president Kate McEnroe.
According to a report in TheWall Street Journal in June,
Cablevision began talking with Schwartz that same month. Schwartz had been
working on the federal investigation into some of AOL Time Warner’s accounting
practices, mainly at its America Online Inc. Internet unit.
"Jonathan Schwartz comes to Cablevision with a distinguished background and
broad experience that includes senior roles at both AOL Time Warner and Napster
and leadership positions with the federal government," Dolan said in a prepared
statement.
"He has already achieved a great deal in his professional life," he added.
"We believe he will be an excellent addition to Cablevision’s senior management
team and we look forward to a long association with him."
