A Second Act for Spitzer?

"Too many of us look upon Americans as dollar chasers. This is a cruel libel, even if it is reiterated thoughtlessly by the Americans themselves." - Albert Einstein

There is an attorney who can get to the bottom of our current financial crisis and lay the blame and guilt at the foot of the culprits. He has already gone after fraud at AIG, brought down the Gambino family's control of trucking and garment industries in New York City, prosecuted predatory lenders, computer chip price fixing, securities frauds, and sued Richard Grasso, the former head of the New York Stock Exchange for not fully disclosing his $140 million deferred compensation package.

Eliot Spitzer, phone home.

Spitzer would make an ideal federal prosecutor for the government to pursue all of the people who sold the ponzi scheme known as derivatives or Credit Default Obligations or Credit Default Swaps, which were bound to end with the last buyers in line having the pyramid of paper collapse on their heads, and then all the way down the hill to the sellers and investors. The former governor of New York has the resume' as attorney general and serving in the Manhattan District Attorney's office and, in both capacities, he concentrated on white collar crime.

Name one person better qualified to get to the bottom of what happened on Wall Street, prosecute the bad actors, and help design laws that prevent a recurrence. There is no one more ably suited for this critical task. Of course, the Obama administration isn't talking about a federal prosecutor but there seems little doubt we are in need of legal scrutiny regarding bonuses, buyouts, salaries, and, indeed, even a deconstruct of the derivatives market and how these contrived instruments were allowed to morph into the hairy monster that ate America.

I don't want to hear about Spitzer's moral lapse. I live in a country where my former President showed similar bad judgment, many members of congress conduct themselves poorly with regards to matters sexual, and the entire population has human failings. I don't condone Spitzer's behavior but I also don't believe a man with his education and experience needs to be permanently marginalized by a culture and an economy that needs his insight and skill. American society has made an accommodation that allows, rightly or wrongly, for a distinction between an individual's personal comportment and their professional performance. Washington and most of the corporate offices in this country would be empty structures if we had not made this compromise. We are human beings; we screw up and need redemption.

Let's give Spitzer another shot. Put him on this task of getting to the bottom of what went wrong on Wall Street and how our retirements did the amazing disappearing act. As an example of his tenacity and skill, consider what he did regarding mutual fund abuses way back in 2003 when we were all flush with excitement about our thrumming economy. Spitzer knew people were playing games and running scams to make things better than possible with natural market forces. Using arcane practices known as front running, late trading, and market timing, Bank One, Prudential Securities, Putnam, Janus, and Bank of America were providing benefits to some of their big investors using practices considered to be fraudulent and unfair by the SEC. The feds investigated in the wake of the work conducted by Spitzer's team and these fancy fiscal maneuvers were shut down. The heads of several significant mutual funds resigned in disgrace.

The man knows what to do and where to start looking. Why would we not put him on point to help taxpayers and the government better understand what has just transpired? Don't we need to know or are we afraid to learn that the pirates are still in control of the high seas?

Scott Fitzgerald was wrong about American lives. There are second acts. In fact, life in America is all about second acts. If ever there were a culture that offered redemption and renewal and loved a comeback, it is ours. We enjoy seeing people fall from high places but we seem to be pleased even more when they pick themselves up, mend, and get on with other challenges because we know, as Papa Hemingway wrote, they have become "stronger in their broken places."

Eliot Spitzer's broken place is healed. Let's put him back to work.

Also at www.moorethink.com.

Comments

[doogiedude]

A little background story.

In April 2005, the Mr. Spitzer sent letters of inquiry to several national banks,including Citibank, N.A., JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., HSBC Bank USA, N.A., and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., informing the banks that he had commenced a preliminary inquiry into each bank"s lending practices. Subsequently, Mr. Spitzer was sued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ( a bureau of the Department of the Treasury) for investigating alledged unfair lending practices of national banks.

Here is an overview article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/13/AR2008021302783.html

An depth atricle from BusinessWeek about this issue:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_42/b4104036827981.htm

The US District Court ruling in favor of the OCC
http://www.theclearinghouse.org/docs/001277.pdf

From the docket of the Federal Register regarding OCC rulemaking to preempt state laws regulating national bank practices:
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-19906.htm

A letter from the American Bankers Association supporting the OCC preemption of the Georgia Fair Lending Act:
http://www.aba.com/NR/rdonlyres/D881716A-1C75-11D5-AB7B-00508B95258D/32543/sban_memo_re_OCCPreemptionGFLA081204.pdf


Just Sayin

[SCG]

Agreed.

[SharonWantsToTalk]

Its been said your never out of politics unless your caught with a live boy or a dead woman. So by that standard, there is still hope for Elliot.

[PADDYWHACK]

He needs to be drafted to this task.It's clear the administration does not want to pursue this since it has the thieves advising it.Spitzer is probably pissed at the people who framed him,go get 'em Eliot since no one else will.

[angiemomma]

I couldn't agree more about Spitzer's potential in this regard. We New Yorkers found a champion in Spitzer during his days with the DA's office and as AG. He truly fought for the little guy, especially in combating the greed and excesses of corporate America.
The only people he should be answering to with respect to his sexual indiscretions are his wife and children. If law enforcement decided he will not be prosecuted, then let's not waste this man's incredible talents. If we gave our elected officials some privacy, rather than thinking we deserve to be privy to everything in their personal lives, we would have more capable people willing to take office. This Entertainment Tonight, gossip-mongering society we live in, that relishes in the airing of dirty laundry, has denied us the service of some monumental talent.
We need Eliot now more than ever. Give the guy a second chance!

[deeppeace]

Bravo. Well said.

[AJ39]

Watch Spitzer on CNN's "Global Square" this Sunday.

If Vitner can still be heard, why not Spitzer? Spitzer's career as an elected official is probably over, but he should be given the opportunity to use his knowledge and skills for our country's benefit. What's the point of punishing him forever? Is everyone else perfect?

[ptgkc]

Amen. If Vitter can remain in the Senate, Spitzer can come back.

Last I saw it was a non-issue. Granted the senate race is 2 years away, but Vitter is leading in all polls to be reelected as the pro-family values obstructionist that we expect from the hard right.

[outnow]

Eliot Spitzer was probably set up in a sex scandal to prevent him from investigating Wall Street's gangsterism. He pointed out on March 17 that the real scandal is the billions of dollars paid to the counter-parties of AIG's financial deals. These deals hide an enormous second round of cash to the same group that had received TARP money already. Goldman Sacks, for example, has already received a cash infusion of 25 billion and was sitting on more than 100 billion in cash when the Wall Street firm received another 13 billion via the bailout.

Most of the billions were unnecessary because Goldman Sacks was probably not threatened with financial insolvency.

The AIG bailout decision, according to reports involved Paulson, formerly of Goldman Sacks, Blankfein, former CEO of Goldman Sacks, Bernanke and Geithner. There were no oversight provisons and no transparency.

We must now call this the Bush/Obama bailouts and the Bush/Obama wars.

Elizabeth Warren said on NPR that America has too many banks. She is on the Congressional Oversight Committee and a Harvard Law Professor. It is looking like a taxpayer-funded program of financial concentration for a few mega-banks. Any wonder that Senator Grassley suggested resignation or other honorable exits such as suicide? Larry Summers now cites the sanctity of contracts to defuse righteous public outrage.

[JakeMontero]

The more I think about it the more I agree. accordingly to reports, Spitzer likes to be 'rough'... maybe he could focus that again on wall street - instead of his acquaintances.

[outnow]

So says Who? The same woman no doubt prior to sentencing on her charges? It doesn't pass the smell test.

[batguano]

Excellent Jim! Spitzer may have been the "Village Elliot" and had a heavy management style, but he did a great job in bringing the Wall Street Fat Cats down a peg or two. His sexual lapses and poor judgment ( and thoughtless treatment of his wife and children) are little different than hundreds of public servants and religious hypocrites. He was brought down intentionally by vendetta by the people and their allies who were being gored by Spitzers aggressive prosecutions and agenda as Governor. We need dedicated public servants even if they are ego-driven and make bad decisions sometimes. Let Spitzer out of the cage and give him a special prosecutors job. Let Spitzer be Spitzer.

[batguano]

A very informative Brian Lehrer interview with Elliot Spitzer on the AIG and other issues can be found here on WNYC.

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/episodes/2009/03/18/segments/126486

[jayhawk67]

Many on Wall Street were elated when Eliot Spitzer resigned as New York Governor. He had, rightly or wrongly, made their lives miserable as AG.
Maybe they were political footballs to kick as he made his way, inevitably it seemed, up the ladder of political success.
If he is put in charge of pursuing the thieves and pirates of Wall Street, it would be a real life version of the Friday The Thirteenth sequels and nobody would be more deserving.

[NChooseK]

Mr. Moore, a second act is not the same as a second chance. Please look it up.

[SteveDenver]

I have confidence in Spitzer and don't give a damn about his sexual antics.
The only people who think being horny is a crime are those who aren't getting any.
Send Spitzer after the Wall Street crooks, he's good at it and now is the time.

[DASChicago]

Thank you Mr. Moore, for your fine work. And, I totally agree.

Hey SteveDenver I second. Spitzer was taken down by Bush & Co. He is in the know and can do it, just to think he and Andrew Cuomo, wow!

Here where I followed him.
http://www.pbs.org/search/search_results.html?q=Eliot+Spitzer
and here, http://www.slate.com/id/2213942/

[AurigaRa]

amen, Mr Moore

The Bush Crime Family brought him down because he told the truth.
He's paid enough, in my estimation, for his indiscretion.
Now let's bring him back to help clean up the mess the real criminal left us

[SteveDenver]

"Bush Crime Family," so true, so succinct, so memorable.

[corkonian]

Or was it the Wall Street Crime Family that brought him down? Unfortunately, members of that same Family, via Goldman Sachs et al, are firmly imbedded in Geitners (and therefore Obama's) team. Obama needs to explain why.

[The Ghost]

Or not.

[hproberts]

I have always harbored suspicion about the reasons Spitzer was brought down.
I frankly don't care about anyone's private life.
I agree wholeheartedly that Eliot Spitzer should, in fact MUST be appointed by our President/ Congress to get to the bottom of this global disaster and prosecute the greedy sociopaths responsible it.
I nominate Eliot Spitzer to clean house on Wall Street!!