LEE AMAITIS, chief executive of Cantor Fitzgerald, yesterday dismissed as “totally ridiculous” allegations that he had discussed using a hitman to take out his arch-rival, Michael Spencer.

Mr Amaitis was defending his firm against a £1.5 million unfair dismissal claim brought by Steven Horkulak, former head of global interest rate derivatives at Cantor.

In his witness statement, Mr Horkulak alleged that Mr Amaitis referred to Mr Spencer, chief executive of the rival money broker ICAP, as a “f***ing fat greasy f***”. Mr Horkulak also claimed that when another senior manager at Cantor offered to get someone “to take care of (Mr Spencer) once and for all”, Mr Amaitis said he was tempted to take him up on the offer.

“That is absolutely ridiculous, I would not say that,” Mr Amaitis told the High Court yesterday, before admitting: “I would have said he was a f***, I may have called him a bastard. I probably even called him a f***ing vulture.”

Mr Spencer, who crossed swords with Cantor Fitzgerald in a staff poaching lawsuit last year, has been in the courtroom this week watching the case.

Mr Horkulak, who now earns £325,000 a year as head of euro interest rate swaps at Tullett, resigned from Cantor in June 2000 after what he claims was “an intolerable run of abuse” from Mr Amaitis.

Mr Amaitis told the court that the bullying claims were untrue. He said he had grown increasingly frustrated by Mr Horkulak’s inability to run his trading desk and had only raised his voice “when Mr Horkulak presented me with yet another example of his failure to manage, I was unable to find Mr Horkulak or he had incurred unauthorised costs”.

Mr Amaitis added that he had been extremely sympathetic to Mr Horkulak when he was having marital problems, and took a compassionate line when he believed Mr Horkulak was engaging in drug and alcohol abuse.

“I don’t find the fact that someone is having drug and alcohol problems a fireable offence at the first instance,” Mr Amaitis said.