“Henry Blodget, who became a lightning rod for critics of conflicts involving Wall Street analysts, will soon leave Merrill Lynch & Co. with a hefty paycheck and his troubles seemingly behind him,” writes Charles Gasparino in today’s Wall Street Journal.

“Well, not all of them.”

“Despite Mr. Blodget’s well-publicized departure, the New York state attorney general’s office is investigating some of his actions as an Internet-stock analyst for the big Wall Street securities firm as part of its broad probe of analyst conflicts of interest, according to people with knowledge of the matter.”

“At issue for state investigators: whether Mr. Blodget misled investors with some of his stock recommendations, and whether that can translate into criminal or civil securities fraud charges against Mr. Blodget and Merrill, the people close to the matter say.”

“It’s unclear how much information the attorney general’s office has gathered in the matter, or whether it is leaning toward bringing charges. A spokesman confirmed the existence of a general probe into analysts’ conflicts, but declined to comment on the specifics of Mr. Blodget’s case.”

“Mr. Blodget, who announced his decision to leave Merrill in mid-November with a severance package estimated at $5 million, didn’t respond to numerous telephone calls for comment. In 2000, the year the Internet bubble burst, Mr. Blodget’s pay exceeded $5 million, people on Wall Street say.”

” ‘Henry Blodget’s decision to leave the firm was entirely his own and made at a time when thousands of employees are choosing to leave for a variety of personal and professional reasons,’ a Merrill spokesman said.”

“Merrill declined to comment on the investigation, or if Mr. Blodget’s departure was in any way related to the attorney general’s probe. But the spokesman, who said he was speaking on behalf of Mr. Blodget and Merrill, added that Mr. Blodget ‘is held in high regard both by our firm and by the Wall Street community, which has given his performance as a tech-stock analyst extremely high marks over much of his career in very difficult markets.’ “

“Under a New York state law, known as the Martin Act, the state attorney general’s office has far-reaching powers to charge Wall Street players with either criminal or civil securities fraud. And in recent years, the state attorney general increasingly has used the Martin Act to crack down on securities-related improprieties.”