Lawsuit claims hedge fund exec has "untouchable" management style

STAMFORD -- Former trader Jeffrey Kong claims his old boss Don Brownstein, founder of hedge fund Structured Portfolio Management, sometimes adopted the managerial style of movie land gangster complete with baseball bat.

Brownstein's $2 billion Stamford-based SPM LLC. is locked in a legal battle with Kong, each seeking to "recover" millions of dollars from the other claiming breach of contract. The two had worked together for 10 years until Kong resigned in May of 2010 and then took a job with a rival fund. And this week, Kong asked the court to stop SPM from distributing, profits, bonuses and equity distributions. Kong's counterclaim in the fight also became public, revealing some of his allegations against his former boss, a highly regarded former philosophy professor.

"Brownstein's management style was, at times questionable," Kong said in a court filing. "For example, as in the famous scene from the movie "The Untouchables," Brownstein would often walk around the crowded conference room table while slapping the palm of his hand with a baseball bat, stopping behind me while stating, `I'll kill you if you leave. The only way you can leave this firm is in a body bag.'"