Morgan Stanley banker charged with tossing cement blocks at police.

A public finance banker at Morgan Stanley & Co. and a friend were arrested Saturday after allegedly throwing cinder blocks from the roof of the banker's 48-story Manhattan apartment building at police officers below.

Jefferson Nutter, 25, and his friend David Pardue were charged with reckless endangerment in the first degree, a felony, and criminal mischief, according to Barbara Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney's office.

The two men posted $3,500 bail each and were released Sunday after spending Saturday night in jail.

According to the police account, Mr. Nutter and Mr. Pardue, a student at Yale School, tossed dozens of cinder blocks from the roof of the apartment tower, severely damaging cars on the street below and setting off a flood of panicked calls to the police from building residents.

Two police officers were on traffic duty in the street below at the start of the incident, which lasted 30 minutes, the police account says. Immediately after the shower of debris, the Building's doorman told the officers he had just seen the elevator go from the roof to the ninth floor, where the banker lives.

The police went to the ninth floor and overhead the two men allegedly yoking about the attack.

"This is better than a bank robbery" and "We have the cops stumped" were among the comments overheard, the district attorney's office said.

The men were led from the building wearing only shirts and underwear and carrying other clothes, Ms. Thompson said. She said their pants were covered with cement dust and were probably taken as evidence. No information has been released about whether alcohol or drugs were involved.

The initial charge was attempted murder of a police officer, but Ms. Thompson said that allegation was deemed "not legally sustainable."

She said attempted murder allegations require intent to kill, which would have been difficult to prove given the distance from the street and the time of day. The incident occurred before dawn, she said, when it would have been hard for them to even see the street below.

A spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley said the company will not make a statement on the arrest until more information is available.

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