"I'm stunned," one Salomon employee said.

Clearly the thought of a coup or a general strike had crossed Gutfreund's mind, as large numbers of Salomon employees owned their chief allegiance to Ranieri.

The former Salomon employee nodded.

Mr. Maughan's statements were greeted with applause by Salomon employees, people who attended the meetings said.

The indictment says Mr. Lama, a Salomon employee, was forced by the threats to steal about $7 million in securities from his firm.

The concerns include worries that the new Citigroup will pay smaller bonuses than Salomon employees expect.

Using his severance package, his penchant for long hours and the added talents of four other former Salomon employees, he produced that and more.

Current and former Salomon employees said Mr. Kimmell's behavior won him few friends there.

His notes, which fill seven spiral notebooks and three calendars, detail the daily conversations he had with clients and with other Salomon employees from 1997 to 2001.

Since then, another 180 Salomon employees have bought 1.2 million of the company's shares.