Best of Boston

1989 Best Nosedive

The Boston Company’s plunge

The thriving Brahmin bank fell from grace after the suicide of one executive and the resignation of another lifted the curtain on a $30-million accounting error. The firm jettisoned CEO James von Germeten in January, the public relations wound bled for weeks, and the bright star in the Shearson Lehman Hutton empire lost its luster.