Dear Eric Holder, ur doin it wrong.
This is how you are supposed to uphold the law
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is not backing off a civil fraud probe into whether Bank of America deliberately misled shareholders about the massive losses on Merrill Lynch's books before its 2008 purchase of the investment bank.
The NY AG, who took over from Andrew Cuomo this year, has subpoenaed Bank of America Corp. CEO Brian Moynihan and other executives of the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank seeking new depositions, The Wall Street Journal reported online late Friday, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.
HuffingtonPost.com
This case began over a year ago, under the previous AG of NY, current Governor Andrew Cuomo. Back then the corporate captured SEC turned a blind eye to any evidence (surprised?) of fraud and slapped BoA on the wrist with a $150 million dollar fine, which to Bank of America is the equivalent of getting a speeding ticket for 3 cents.
Back then . . .
Bank of America was "motivated by self-interest, greed, hubris and a palpable sense that the normal rules of fair play did not apply to them," Cuomo contends. He asserts the bank's top management understated Merrill Lynch losses to shareholders to win their approval of the merger at the same time that they painted a different picture to the federal government to obtain $20 billion from the taxpayer-funded Troubled Asset Relief Program.
In addition to the Bank of America, former chief executive Kenneth Lewis and chief financial officer Joe Price are also named as defendants. (Price remains with the bank although he is no longer its chief financial officer.)
Responding on behalf of the Bank of America, spokesman Bob Stickler says there was no such fraud.
abajournal.com
Steal $20, go to jail. Steal $20 BILLION dollars from tax payers, and nothing happens at all.
Until maybe now . . .
Maybe putting a couple of these fuckers in jail would be a good idea. You know, before they crash the economy again with their reckless, greed driven lunacy. Much of what is obviously wrong with our economy and the massive income inequality gap can be proven to be due to Bank CEO's taking tremendous risks in order to make ever growing bonuses for themselves while stock prices inflated, and then NOT TRICKLING IT DOWN to the rest of us unwashed masses. Wall Street isn't "making it rain" for anyone but themselves, and Ronald Reagan is still an asshole.
But when you look at the heart of the fraud behind the Big Banks, we must admit that it is totally enabled by the political idiocy of the concept of Too Big To Fail. It is the dumbest kind of socialism ever, the socialization of private losses and the privatization of private profits. If the CEO takes huge risks and makes a profit the CEO gets to keep it, and if they fuck up and take huge risks that blow up in their face then the public has to bail them out, and the CEO gets to keep his job and go right back to taking huge risks and big bonuses. In a sane world these bastards would all be breaking rocks with pick axes while chained to a boulder, they wouldn't be trying to steal your medicare while bitching about raising an incremental tax on their private corporate jets.
One things among many that have been totally neglected in the aftermath of the greatest robbery in history in the 2008 crash was the idea that if no one is held accountable than they have every incentive to do it again. Yes, this was FRAUD. just because a spokesman from Bank of America says it isn't so, doesn't make it so. I wish someone would tell that useless bump on a log Eric Holder that.
So while the rest of America faces huge cuts and austerity the champagne is still pouring on Wall Street, the same huge risks are being taken, the corporate profits have never been better, and while corporate profits captured 88% of the growth in real national income, aggregate wages and salaries accounted for only slightly more than 1% of the growth in real national income.
I am thrilled to live in New York sometimes. I felt that way last week when we joined the rest of the civilized world in offering equality to all of our citizens, and I feel the same way today when I see our new Attorney General, Eric Shneiderman fighting against the crooks on Wall Street. Increasingly I am become convinced that in this era of a jobless, wageless recovery where CEO's salaries and stock prices keep growing bigger and bigger the only way a recovery can really happen for the working class in America is when the obvious fraud in our financial markets ends.
Cheers to NY AG Eric Schneiderman for taking up the fight. I am so sick and fucking tired of watching State Attorney Generals and US AG Eric Holder play Chief Wiggum when it comes to the obvious fraud on Wall Street.
As the Republic party moans and wails about the class war of asking people who own private corporate jets to pay a tiny bit more in taxes, it's just inspiring to see NY AS Schneiderman take the class war to them.
Like a breath of fresh air.
Peace
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P.S. To those of you who saw my diary yesterday and left some kind thoughts, thank you very much. Your kindness sustains me. I'm still trying to pay the rent, so any and all help is as always greatly appreciated.
You can purchase your copy of "Americana: By Jesse LaGreca" by making a contribution of your choice to me with Paypal
I am setting a deadline for the release of this book. By 10/1/2011 I will get this book into the hands or email box of every person who would like one, even if I have to hand deliver it to you myself.
Peace and love to all
Yours truly, MoT
You can follow me on Twitter @JesseLaGreca