The second annual event honoring Judy Mione, Wall Street veteran and activist for women’s equality in the male dominated field of securities trading, will be hosted by her daughter, Lynn Mione, on Thursday, April 18 in Merrick, Long Island, New York. 

Judy Mione, who died in April 2011 following a long battle with cancer, was a lead plaintiff in the high profile Federal lawsuit against the New York Stock Exchange, National Association of Securities Dealers and the retail brokerage firm, Smith Barney. The suit, filed on May 20, 1996, dragged on for years including an appeal to the 2^nd Circuit. The case forced out of the shadows Wall Street’s private justice system known as mandatory arbitration and its pivotal role in keeping Wall Street’s misdeeds hidden from public view in open courtrooms. (Both the New York Stock Exchange and the National Association of Securities Dealers were eventually able to remove themselves as parties to the suit.) 

The lawsuit became infamously known as the “Boom Boom Room” case following media saturation revealing that Smith Barney had set up a frat house style drinking parlor in the basement of one of its brokerage offices, replete with an old bicycle and toilet seat hanging from the ceiling. The drinking parlor was nicknamed the “Boom Boom Room” by the branch manager. 

Mione refused to take part in the settlement of the lawsuit (as did the Editor of this web site, Pam Martens) when its terms called for richly rewarding the plaintiffs’ lawyers but installed more private justice systems for claimants in the settlement. The five year legal battle was the focus of an award winning book by Susan Antilla, “Tales from the Boom Boom Room.” Judy Mione was honored by the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1997 and presented with a “Woman of Courage” award. 

The benefit event will be held at The Vine Wine Bar, owned by Judy Mione’s daughter, Lynn Mione, from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 18. The Vine Wine Bar is located at 2259 Merrick Road in Merrick, Long Island, New York. 

The event is open to the general public. Admission is $40 per person and includes hors d’oeuvres and wine. All of the proceeds will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. For further information, visit thevinewinebar.com.