Craig Schmell is celebrating 27 years of clean living, but it wasn’t enough for the former broker to keep his job with Morgan Stanley.
In late March, a federal judge ruled that a wrongful termination lawsuit Schmell filed against Morgan Stanley could proceed in federal court instead of going before an arbitration panel.
“I’m suing them, and it is not about the money—it’s about getting my name back,” said Schmell.
Schmell was fired in November 2017 for being a “reputational risk” to the bank and brokerage after publishing The Uninvited: How I Crashed My Way Into Finding Myself, a memoir of his years as a substance abuser.
In a statement obtained by Financial Advisor, Morgan Stanley claims that its dispute with Schmell is more about his deceptions than it is his substance abuse.
“We commend individuals like Mr. Schmell who have gone through recovery. Upon review of Mr. Schmell’s book, we explained our concerns about him publishing a book detailing numerous misdeeds and touting his ‘gift of manipulation,’” wrote the firm. “We also told him that he could lose his job if he did not adequately address our concerns. While he agreed to make certain edits, the book he intended to publish still failed to sufficiently address them. He was therefore terminated.”
Schmell says that Morgan Stanley’s response was more about stigmatizing drug and alcohol use, and he points out that the company had allowed a known spousal abuser to remain with the firm for over a decade.
“The gentleman with four different restraining orders, nothing happened to him because he was a big producer for Morgan Stanley,” Schmell said. “If they’re so concerned about reputational risk, where were they with this guy who allegedly beats women? It’s hypocrisy.”
Morgan Stanley had said Tuesday it fired star Oregon financial advisor Douglas E. Greenberg after the New York Times reported that four women had filed restraining orders and accused him of abuse.
Schmell, a resident of Rumson, N.J., has been a broker for 26 years, 12 of them with Morgan Stanley. He is also the owner of Retro Fitness gym franchises in New York and New Jersey.