Nynex Corp conducting a frantic campaign of damage limitation in the wake of the unfortunate disclosures about unsavoury parties staged by its former purchasing managers for their business partners, and we got a note from the company on Wednesday asking us to make clear that Nynex takes the integrity of our company very seriously indeed and would hope to have your readership’s confidence in Nynex’s desire to set the record straight: the note was accompanied by multi-page apologias from the company, pointing out that it had investigated the activities, indentified that eight employees were involved, fired two and disciplined the other six, and stressing that none of the Nynex family of companies engaged in activities resulting in improper costs to Nynex customers – but the furore refuses to die down, and yesterday’s New York Times and Wall Street Journal ran stories on new disclosures in the unhappy affair, the Journal story opening New data retrieved from a Nynex Corp billing system show that the company paid about $10m more than it already disclosed to firms represented at annual ‘perverts conventions’; the company has now announced plans to set up a special ethics office and review committee, and is sending letters to employees assuring them that the company won’t put their jobs or positions at risk if they blow the whistle on practices they believe to be unacceptable.
