An independent review committee yesterday said it found no basisfor the accusation that Maurice Greenberg, former head of AmericanInternational Group, cheated a charitable foundation out ofmillions of dollars.

In December 2005, Eliot Spitzer–while serving as New York'sattorney general–had issued a report charging that Mr. Greenbergand other executives had enriched themselves at the expense of TheStarr Foundation created by AIG's founder, Cornelius VanderStarr.

According to Mr. Spitzer–now the state's governor–Mr. Greenbergand the other executors had carried out their alleged activities byselling Starr Foundation assets at bargain-basement prices tocompanies they controlled after Mr. Starr's death in 1968.

Mr. Spitzer's accusations were made in a report that is part ofNew York's ongoing lawsuit against Mr. Greenberg, who was forcedout as AIG's chief executive officer and chairman in March2005.

Mr. Spitzer wrote Starr Foundation President Florence Davis inNew York, urging her to consider reconstituting the organization,which has Mr. Greenberg as chairman, as well as seeking recovery ofassets.

After a 12-month study, however, a panel of retired judgescreated by the foundation concluded in a 180-page report “that theallegations against the executors are unfounded, and it would notbe in the best interests of the foundation to pursue any litigationor other course of action against the executors of the StarrEstate…”

The panel found that the executors, who included HoughtonFreeman, John J. Roberts, and Ernest E. Stempel in addition to Mr.Greenberg, had “acted in good faith” in selling various shareassets, including Starr's minority interest in AmericanInternational Underwriters Far East Inc., for $1,655 per share.

Mr. Spitzer contended the executors had sold that stock for $1million when they knew it was worth $7.2 million, and if anothertransaction had been handled properly, the foundation would haveassets of $750 million instead of $19 million.

The committee report said they made their findings aftercollecting 650,000 pages of documents, reviewed dozens oftranscripts, and interviewed nearly “all of the survivingparticipants or witnesses” to the matters raised in Mr. Spitzer'sreport.

In addition to retired Appellate Division Justice WilliamThompson and former Nassau County Surrogate Judge Raymond Radigan,the three-member committee included Starr Foundation PresidentFlorence Davis. Counsels to the panel were John J. Barnosky, andLawrence J. Zweifach.

According to The Starr Foundation Web site, in the past twoyears, the foundation has made more than $650 million in grantcommitments and payments of more than $360 million to variouseducational, health, cultural and social service groups.

Spokespersons for the New York Attorney General's Office and Mr.Greenberg did not immediately respond to requests for comment.