Kenneth Foss, Administrator of the Estate of Vincent P. Koth v. Bear, Stearns & Co., Inc., and Patrick Delahanty O'Meara

EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judge.

Arthur McDonnell became administrator of Vincent P. Koth’s estate in May 1998. Discovering that Koth kept some securities in safe deposit boxes, so that they did not appear in any of his brokerage statements, McDonnell concealed them from the probate court, Koth’s heirs, and the tax collector. He set up a corporation and asked his son-in-law Patrick O’Meara to transfer the securities to its ownership. O’Meara, an account executive of Bear, Stearns & Co., did just that. McDonnell withdrew the money for his own use: We must assume, given the posture of the case, that…