Attorney Jerry Bernstein said his client, Joseph Peiser, former head of excess casualty at Marsh, and two subordinates were acquitted in a bench trial by State Supreme Court Judge James Yates.

Peiser, Greg Doherty and Kathleen Drake were indicted in 2005 by then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The defendants were among eight former Marsh executives accused of colluding with brokers at American International Group and other major insurance companies to arrange noncompetitive bids for corporate customers.

Bernstein said that Peiser feels “ecstatic and vindicated.”

Peiser and Doherty had faced a maximum sentence of 25 years in state prison if convicted. Drake faced a maximum of 15 years in prison.

The 2005 indictments came after Marsh&McLennan Companies, which owns Marsh, agreed to pay $850 million in restitution to end a civil lawsuit brought by Spitzer, who accused the company of bid-rigging. New York-based Marsh&McLennan denied any wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement. The broker also agreed in May of this year to pay $2.4 million to the state of Connecticut to settle claims of bid rigging, price fixing and receiving kickbacks.