Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, the legendary former chief executive of AIG, declined to answer questions Saturday from the New York Attorney General's office about his role in a controversial transaction between AIG and another insurer. Instead, Greenberg invoked his Fifth Amendment rights, his defense lawyer confirmed.
They said repeatedly that as long as he was provided with the full results of AIG's internal investigation of the deal - which he eventually was - he would answer all of state regulators' questions.
Greenberg's chance to testify finally came on Saturday, but he declined. It was a stunning turnaround for a man who has spent just shy of a quarter of a billion dollars to tell his side of the story and clear his name.