Drowning victim gained attention with bank suit

Ex-trader who claimed NationsBank hid losses had become noted lawyer

Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007

By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer

Searchers identified the Mooresville man who drowned in Lake Norman as a lawyer who received national attention in the 1990s over a lawsuit he filed against Bank of America predecessor NationsBank.

Searchers found Darryll Walter Bolduc's body Tuesday evening on the Catawba County side of Lake Norman, said Maj. Coy Reid of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office. Authorities were investigating the incident and hadn't determined how it happened.

Bolduc made national news in the mid-1990s when he sued NationsBank. The former bond trader alleged he was fired for complaining that executives improperly manipulated NationsBank's bond portfolio to underreport losses.

The bank denied the allegation, saying Bolduc was fired for being an overly aggressive trader. They reached an out-of-court settlement in the $500,000 to $600,000 range, according to Observer archives.

Bolduc graduated from Campbell University's School of Law in 2003 and opened his own uptown firm, often taking on whistle-blower cases.

One of his more prominent cases involved a complaint against pension giant TIAA-CREF over the firing of a manager, Christopher O'Keefe, that ended in a settlement last year.

O'Keefe said Wednesday that he was immediately impressed by Bolduc and that he and the Maine native formed a fast friendship during his case.

"We hit it off pretty well because we are both big hockey fiends," O'Keefe said. "When I learned that, I knew that he would be the guy I wanted.

"I felt a sense of toughness with him and that he would go to battle."

A fisherman saw Bolduc riding a Jet Ski shortly after 4 p.m. Monday, said Chief Keith Bost of the Sherrills Ford Fire Department. Less than 10 minutes later, Bost said, the fisherman saw the abandoned watercraft circling in the water.

Divers and rescue crews spent Monday afternoon and Tuesday searching a 9-acre area of the lake and expanded their search north of where the craft was found, Bost said, because strong winds Monday may have pushed it south.

At 4:11 p.m. Tuesday, sonar found an object that resembled a body. Ninety minutes later, divers recovered Bolduc's body, which was brought up about 6:30 p.m.

Darryll Walter Bolduc
Age: 47.

Hometown: Waterville, Maine.

Career: Founder, the Bolduc Law Firm in Charlotte.

Education: Bachelor's degree, Brown University, 1983, J.D., Campbell University, 2003.

Professional: Bolduc sued Bank of American predecessor NationsBank in the 1990s, alleging he was fired for complaining that executives improperly manipulated the bank's bond portfolio to underreport losses. The case was settled out of court. In 2003, he opened a law firm in Charlotte, often taking on whistle-blower cases.

- Staff Writer Rick Rothacker contributed

All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.