Jan. 27 (Bloomberg) -- John Thain, known as Wall Street’s “Mr. Fixit” before being ousted from Bank of America Corp., hired a New York public relations firm whose clients include Ben Affleck for a little fixing of his own.

Thain retained Sunshine, Sachs & Associates, which has represented actor Leonardo DiCaprio and singer John Mayer, said Jesse Derris, a Sunshine official. Founder Ken Sunshine, chief of staff to New York City Mayor David Dinkins in the early 1990s, also has worked with New York City’s transit workers union.

Thain, 53, was dismissed last week by Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis after Merrill Lynch & Co.’s $15.3 billion loss forced the company to seek further aid from the U.S. government and amid disclosures he accelerated year-end bonus payments to Merrill employees before the deal closed.

After speaking with Sunshine’s firm on Jan. 25, the former Merrill CEO apologized yesterday in a memo to top Merrill executives for paying $1.2 million last year to renovate his New York office and said he will repay the costs. Thain said the office work included two conference rooms and a reception area.

He also appeared on television, defending in an interview with CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo his decision to pay bonuses. “If you don’t pay your best people, you will destroy your franchise,” he said.

Merrill Bonuses

Before hiring Sunshine Sachs, Thain approached public relations firm Rubenstein Associates, which represents New York real-estate developer Harry Macklowe, a person familiar with the plans said.

Derris, who like other Sunshine employees doesn’t have a formal title, became the point man today for questions about New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s subpoenas of Thain and Bank of America Chief Administrative Officer J. Steele Alphin to testify about the bonuses.

Sunshine also got some publicity when an item about representing Thain was posted today on the Web site of PRWeek, a trade publication. “We take great pride in our discretion,” said Sunshine, when asked by the publication to elaborate on his client.

On Jan. 22, the day Thain was dismissed, Bank of America spokesman Scott Silvestri said Thain made the decision to pay the bonuses in December instead of the normal time in January and informed Bank of America.

Bonus Timing Coordinated

Firing back in his memo, Thain said the size and timing of the bonus payments “were all determined together with Bank of America,” and noted that the bonus pool was 41 percent lower than in 2007. Thain had been the head of trading, investment banking and brokerage for the combined company.

The memo prompted Silvestri to issue a second statement yesterday that said Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America had “no legal right to challenge” Merrill’s decision. Asked whether any Bank of America executives had given Merrill guidance or limits on the compensation, Silvestri declined to comment.

Thain burnished his image as one of Wall Street’s most reliable executives during the 25 years he spent at New York- based Goldman Sachs Group Inc. In 2004, he was hired to run the New York Stock Exchange after a scandal over pay to his predecessor, Richard Grasso, had attracted the scrutiny of then- New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

Future Unclear

During the next three years, Thain bought the electronic market Archipelago Holdings Inc., took the NYSE public in March 2006 and acquired European exchange Euronext NV for $9.85 billion in June 2007.

At Merrill, Thain assembled a new management team by recruiting colleagues from Goldman and NYSE Euronext. He engineered Merrill’s sale to Bank of America on the same weekend that Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. sought bankruptcy protection and the U.S. bailed out mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Four months later, Thain is out of a job. He acknowledged on CNBC yesterday that he was “surprised” by the reversal of fortune. He had purchased 84,600 shares of Bank of America the day before his dismissal. He said in the interview that he “hasn’t really thought much” about his future.

To contact the reporter on this story: Josh Fineman in New York at jfineman@bloomberg.net; Bradley Keoun in New York at bkeoun@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 27, 2009 19:03 EST