 The Wild Wild World of Wealth |  |
Depending on your age, the title connotes a Hemingway novel or a song by Metallica. For the 37,000 residents of Bell, California, it is a song of victory. Most stories about asset recovery and fraud begin with men in suits. Shady bankers and investment fund promoters. In this tiny blue collar California town, it begins with corrupt politicians.The L.A. County District Attorney has arrested much of Bell’s city government. Why?
Hint: And you thought Wall Street’s compensation was up….
Inside Edition: “It’s been reported that Madoff said, ‘Screw the victims.’ What’s your response?”
Answer in chorus: “He already did.”
Read more by clicking on the title above.
Twenty-nine Madoff victims have banded together to tell their stories. I can hardly wait to read their book which is appropriately titled: The Club No Wanted to Join—Madoff Victims in Their Own Words.
I have not seen the book. My copy has not shipped yet. But I look forward to reading about the investment experiences with Madoff and his intermediaries. I also look forward to reading what the authors report about Irving Picard, the trustee.
Click on the title above to read more, including my recipe for “Spaghetti alla Madoff.”
Just when it looked like Ponzi schemes had run their course—for the time being—we learned of another. The Daily Beast reported:
Sorry, former President Clinton: It’s not that Ken Starr. A financial adviser with the same name as Clinton’s former nemesis was arrested on Thursday for allegedly perpetrating a $30 million fraud and Ponzi scheme. Clients to Ken Starr, the chairman and CEO of Starr & Company, include Annie Leibovitz, Uma Thurman, Martin Scorsese, Wesley Snipes, and Henry Kissinger. Authorities also arrested Andy Stein, the former Manhattan borough president and New York City Council president, for lying to officials conducting the probe.
The dead bodies keep surfacing. It’s now clear the ratings agencies, who were paid for impartial evaluations of Goldman’s Abacus and other CDO deals, had serious qualms. Here are a few sound bites from internal e-mails quoted in today’s Wall Street Journal:
Earlier this week, I described the Magnetar Trade—the idea that a hedge fund can promote a CDO and bet against the same pool of assets. I have no idea whether the SEC’s charges involve Magnetar, but one thing is clear even now.
Other law suits will follow.
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