Cioffi, Tannin Hung Themselves On Email

New York Times:

In the spring of 2007, as the mortgage market came unglued, two Bear Stearns executives shared their growing fears in a series of e-mail messages to each other about the perilous condition of the giant hedge funds they oversaw.

"I'm fearful of these markets," one wrote.

The other said later, "Believe it or not -- I've been able to convince people to add more money." He concluded that "I think we should close the funds now."

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[schoolmaster]

I do not think that those Bearsterns executives are scheming felons. It is more a case of 'who will bell the cat first' Any negative comment by those executives about sub prime could infuriate their bosses, as it would have caused calamitous cascading effect in in other organizations and banks even before when it actually happened. The better thing would be to catch those guys who proposed and materialized the sub prime scheme without much forethought, and financially benefited thereby.

[ashabot]

Puleeze..... of course they are scheming felons, not the only ones, of course, but it's a start.

[Stretchumall]

They should have used RNC email servers, afterall they were good little neocons.

Stretchumall

[Shaddup]

This is why Bush managed to "lose" a million emails.

[The5thW]

I suppose it would be too much to ask on this, as it was on Spitzer case, for journalists to do more than regurgitate politically appointed prosecutors press releases and leaks. The real question is how the FBI keeps these patsies from exposing the real crooks and the prosecutorial misconduct by Republican goons. Do they threaten to harm their families? Are defense lawyers simply prohibited from exposing political machinations in the FBI and financial machinations of Republican insiders in the securities markets? Spitzer seems to have disappeared down the same black hole as Noriega or anyone else with inside knowledge threatening this régime. I guess we'll have to wait for McClatchy to track them down like they did those detainees.

[ebanks84]

See how many are Skull and Bones members and you got the big guy right there. Guess who?

[Irons]

Sure, fry these little porkies and let the big fat pigs go.

[MicahD]

Justice!

[JoeBlough]

These guys even look like thugs. I smell a pardon coming their way.

[ebanks84]

Or acquittal. The smell is very familiar:)

[dana94591]

oh, it is so sad that these guys with their millions of ill-earned dollars are as mortal as all of us are. So Sad So Sad...

[ebanks84]

Let's hear you say that after they're let loose.

[MissingAmerica]

"They were premeditated lies." In other words, greed which has cost billions is punishable under federal law; on that we agree. However, Bush and Cheney used premeditated lies to wage a war that has cost not only billions in dollars, but lives lost and a shattered global economy. Shouldn't that be punishable under federal law?

[KarateKid]

They look like Charlie Sheen's character Bud Rice in Wall Street, without the tears. I hope they enjoy making license plates for the next decade, just like the Enron cretins.

[castlerider]

Not many of the Enron "cretins" ever saw jail time, many more of the real ones behind the drama being Politicians like John McCain Financial advisor Phil Gramm who wrote the legislation to introduce Energy such as oil, gas and power into the Commodities Modernization Act. This enabled corporations to corner a market by buying the commodity and speculating on its value, and is a principal reason why the price of Gas is so high now.
America is being "Enroned"

Thanks a lot, Phil Gramm.

[FunGuy13]

I love to see the "perp walk" :-)...As someone who used to work in corporate finance these kind of people are soulless and would sell their grandma if would make them a bundle of cash. This reminds me of the derivatives debacle 10 years ago, in which an unregulated portion of the finance industry (like hedge funds) wreaked havoc on the American economy. Remember folks, Wall Street is a "zero sum game"...i.e. if someone is making money, it means that someone else is losing it...i.e. the middle class is losing out big time in this mess...take a look at your returns of your 401(k) at the end of the year...it will make you cry!!!

[justhefacts]

Read the charge to the grand jury. It is published online. http://www.docstoc.com/docs/801755/Bear-Stearns-Indictment

The only "overt acts" alleged are some emails and telephone calls in March and April 2007; one an April 25 investors' call. Looks to me like some very rich investors (including Barclays Bank, the third largest bank in the U.K.) lost a lot of money and need somewhere to pin their losses (and provide an answer to clients and beneficiaries who are asking where the money went). The impact of the loss does drill down to the little guy, but the people claiming they were deceived are not "little guys."

We are expected to believe that these major investors (who borrowed millions to put into the fund) were led down the primrose path by two big, bad Bear Stearns managers. The charging document suggests that these two guys (and some unnamed associates), with no knowledge of anyone up the line, were allowed to toddle around with over $1.5 billion and no one else knew anything about it until it was all gone, baby, gone. If that is true, it raises more serious questions about our financial markets than what two guys said and did over two months in 2007. But we will spend millions prosecuting them, the prosecutor will get some headlines, and then we will all feel better.

[gcallaghan]

Sciotti laments that he saw his 30 year career wash down the drain when the funds collapsed. What an asshat! Along with that career went 3.2 billion in other peoples' money - money that Stearns prevented from being withdrawn prior to the total collapse. if his sole concern is his career, when he gets out of jail he ought to look for work within the ranks of the GOP. They align themselves with self-centered, sociopathic losers just like him.

[olivia]

Why did they bail out this company with millions of taxpayer dollars?

I guess the same reason they bailed out Neil Bush's savings & loan scam with billions of dollars.

[mergina]

Off with their heads.....!!!

[dadw5boys]

FBI WON'T GO AFTER COUNTRYWIDE IT APPEARS.

BUSH'S RELIGIOUS BUDDIES.