Corzine

[Dee8go]

Here's another ********* who has screwed the American public and will probably get away with it.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- After a violent car crash that left him with 18 broken bones and half his blood in 2007, Jon Corzine learned an important lesson: Don’t take unnecessary risks.

And no, we’re not talking about trading in derivatives or wearing your seat belt. We’re talking about taking care of No. 1.


Reuters
Jon Corzine
That’s why as regulators attend to a post-mortem of MF Global Holdings Inc. MFGLQ -24.25% , Corzine has lawyered up to deal with his belly-up firm. Corzine is not only the No. 1, he’s the 1% that have a bulls-eye painted on their backs.

If you’re from the New York area you might remember Corzine’s series of public-service statements he filmed after the accident.

“I’m New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, and I should be dead,” he said.

Many MF Global investors and employees and the kids down at Zuccotti Park might have some mixed feelings about that statement. And why shouldn’t they? Corzine ratcheted up leverage at the firm, failed to heed warnings and put the firm at the precipice. A couple of downgrades from the ratings firms were all that was needed to nudge MF Global off the bankruptcy cliff.

Corzine declined to comment, but you can imagine his defense. MF Global wasn’t a bank. Depositors were never at risk. Moreover, even in its implosion, MF Global never threatened to create an imbalance in the market. Sure, stocks swooned on the day MF failed, but fears about Europe were in the headlines, too.

Click to Play
Banks differ on Europe risk exposures reporting
Is any amount of disclosure enough when it comes to a financial firm's exposure to Europe? How Jefferies Group fares in coming days may help answer that, David Reilly reports on Markets Hub. Photo: AP.

Of course, even if this were true, none of this absolves Corzine from the failures of his reign at MF Global. Moreover, it underscores just how the system remains tilted to the most untouchable of the 1%, the CEOs of big brokerages and banks.

For one, there is Corzine’s ability to distance himself from the mess. He resigned late last week and expressed sorrow (though he never said he was sorry) over MF’s collapse. Corzine said he would not seek severance from the firm.

It all sounds very noble until one realizes that Corzine was stepping away from the mess. He less likely to be challenged in the bankruptcy proceedings by investors and employees who are looking to scrape for the money owed to them.

For another, Corzine almost surely will walk away from the mess without threat of prosecution either criminally or civilly. If operators such as Richard Fuld, the former head of Lehman Brothers, and Kerry Killinger, the former head of Washington Mutual Inc., can get away without giving back their compensation, why would anyone in Washington push Corzine into court?

Moreover, Corzine’s connections to Washington’s top levels — from former high-level Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS +0.79% bankers now serving in government to President Barack Obama himself — suggest that any deceptive statements and missing client money probably won’t be cause for concern in the Corzine camp.

[JollyRoger]

Looks to me like the American public is fine, the investors in MF, however, are going to take a bath.

[Brian Carlton]

*************

That would be "douchebag".

[Air&Road]

I think the most interesting thing surrounding this is that when the mainstream media reports on this, they do NOT mention that he is a democrat. If he were a Republican, I wonder if they would mention that?

[MTI]

The article is a bit of a mess. Resigning from a company doesn't make one less culpable for an wrong doing, it just eliminates the possibility of being terminated by the Board of Directors.

[R Leo]

Originally Posted by LarryBible

I think the most interesting thing surrounding this is that when the mainstream media reports on this, they do NOT mention that he is a democrat. If he were a Republican, I wonder if they would mention that?

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by MTI

The article is a bit of a mess. Resigning from a company doesn't make one less culpable for an wrong doing, it just eliminates the possibility of being terminated by the Board of Directors.

Reminds me of:

Jeffrey Skilling

[Dee8go]

Originally Posted by JollyRoger

Looks to me like the American public is fine, the investors in MF, however, are going to take a bath.

Maybe so, but here's a guy that the voters of New Jersey put in office in a position to handle America's tax dollars, who then went into private money managing and tried to run THAT business just the way he was operating in government. Unfortunately, private companies, unlike the US government, aren't allowed to just fire up the printing presses and print more money when they screw up. I guess he didn't realize that when he was in charge of MF Global . . .

Warren Buffet was correct when he said that financial institutions would be run much more differently if the officers were financially liable for their management decisions.

I'd like to see that law get passed.

[Dee8go]

Originally Posted by MTI

The article is a bit of a mess. Resigning from a company doesn't make one less culpable for an wrong doing, it just eliminates the possibility of being terminated by the Board of Directors.

That's true. If you break the law and get caught, you're still subject to arrest whether you leave the company or not. As that article when on to point out, Corzine is clearly looking out for one person only: Corzine.

It's not like these guys are screwing just their clients, or the tax payers, when we have to bail their companies out. They are screwing their shareholders, employees, everybody but themselves. They are no different than a guy with a gun, who robs you on the street, except their robbery is wholesale . . .

[MTI]

Originally Posted by Dee8go

Maybe so, but here's a guy that the voters of New Jersey put in office in a position to handle America's tax dollars, who then went into private money managing and tried to run THAT business just the way he was operating in government.

I believe that is incorrect; NJ voters elected him governor of their state after leaving Goldman Sachs; NJ subsequently elected Mr. Christie, a rebuke to Mr. Corzine's re-election campaign for a second term.

Unfortunately, private companies, unlike the US government, aren't allowed to just fire up the printing presses and print more money when they screw up. I guess he didn't realize that when he was in charge of MF Global . . .

While all investments carry risks, including the loss of principal investments, there is an investigation as to whether there was any wrong doing and if there was any unlawful transfer of investor assets.

Warren Buffet was correct when he said that financial institutions would be run much more differently if the officers were financially liable for their management decisions.

I'd like to see that law get passed.

That would be a silly law.

[JollyRoger]

Originally Posted by LarryBible

I think the most interesting thing surrounding this is that when the mainstream media reports on this, they do NOT mention that he is a democrat. If he were a Republican, I wonder if they would mention that?

Why are you making things up again?

[Air&Road]

Jolly,

Not making up anything AT ALL! I saw a piece on this Sunday I think on NBC. They pointed out he had been NJ governor, but there was no indication WHATSOEVER indicating his party affiliation.

BTW, I've never made ANYTHING up that I've posted on this forum. I have indeed made some posts in error, but I DO NOT "make things up."

Are you implying that I am a liar?

[JollyRoger]

Yes.

[JollyRoger]

Wow, look, this one is on RWNJ Bogeyman site NPR:

Now-Bankrupt MF Global, Ex-CEO Corzine Had Deep Pockets For Democrats : It's All Politics : NPR

[crs82]

Originally Posted by LarryBible

Jolly,

Not making up anything AT ALL! I saw a piece on this Sunday I think on NBC. They pointed out he had been NJ governor, but there was no indication WHATSOEVER indicating his party affiliation.

BTW, I've never made ANYTHING up that I've posted on this forum. I have indeed made some posts in error, but I DO NOT "make things up."

Are you implying that I am a liar?

Of course he is. Do you expect any different from him?