Theodore Sihpol's settlement of civil charges with the SEC will not cost Banc of America Securities its Manhattan lease. The landlord for the bank's West 57th Street location had sought to evict the bank after New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer brought criminal charges against Sihphol in 2003 citing a clause in the lease barring criminal activity. Sihpol ultimately won his court fight when the last charges were dismissed after a hung jury. He later settled similar charges brought by the SEC using the same evidence.

Meanwhile, Banc of America won its initial fight with the landlord, Solow Building Co. II.

This month the real estate case reached a New York appeals court, which again ruled in favor of Banc of America. The court found that though Sihpol's settlement with the SEC showed there had been a serious pattern of misconduct in the office, that activity was "largely carried out by a single member of the tenant's substantial on-site work force."  

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