Hilton, Starwood Spying Suit: Hilton Gets Grand Jury Subpoena

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Hilton Hotels Corp. said Tuesday it received a federal grand jury subpoena for documents related to allegations that the company and two executives stole documents from rival Starwood Hotels & Resorts to develop Hilton's luxury brand, Denizen Hotels.

The privately held Hilton also said it has decided to suspend temporarily the development of its Denizen brand. It did not elaborate on why it was suspending development of Denizen

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Comments

[davidwayneosedach]

All in a days work.

[redsongia]

The question is, did the Hiltons waterboard anyone or just wiretap them.

[unfettered]

I was waterboarding Paris Hilton just the other night,she didn't seem to mind.

[peachykeen]

Which end were you waterboarding? :)

[thaneb]

Hilton should fire their marketing research/branding firm. Denizen as a luxury brand?

[brandnewstuff]

I loveit when bad corporate business get hit back! Show the public their true colors, values and ethics

[DASChicago]

I'm wondering how many others were instructed by the Bush agenda to do such things for subsidies and other perks. Is this how now Slate writer Eliott Spitzer go caught up?
Bush didn't like him you know.

[ajmof2]

Starwood has a multi-billion dollar market cap even with its current price and hires the very expensive law firm of Cahill Gordon to sue Hilton,. Cahill's partners include, as I recall, the Bush-era US Attorney for Southern District New York. We promptly see grand jury subpoenas from the current US Attorney in support of Starwood.

When New York prosecutors protest that they lack resources to pursue ponzi schemes and mortgage fraud against low income citizens, this abuse of resources insults the public interest. Starwood can pursue its own business interests -- a family facing loss due to fraud or the victim of a small scale interstate ponzi scheme cannot.

Starwood also seems to employ someone to plant advance information twith the Wall St Journal and indignant press releases as same-day follow up. Too slick, no? Perhaps the same Starwood pr group that thought planting a gossip item about a politician and his then-companion hiding out at a St. Regis was a great marketing ploy?

While the independent financial press is reporting these planted stories perhaps it can take a moment to talk to investors, employees and creditors of the several W Hotels and other Starwood properties that have closed, face foreclosure or cannot pay their debts or to the buyers of vacation units who are not happy with Starwood Vacation Ownership. This Denizen thing is a sideshow.

[hortonhearsawho2]

well fine, i'm staying at motel six...

[Rick101]

Well said. Thank you.