Why Jon Corzine Won't Be Prosecuted
John Corzine still walks the streets a free man. In fact, I just read that he is making a deal for office space in Manhattan so he can continue doing whatever it is he does these days (trading his account?).
Meanwhile, account holders of his failed firm MF Global wait for their money - and wait and wait. Among the latest outrages to come from the Trustee of the bankrupt firm was a refusal to allow account holders access to the precious metals (typically gold) that they have stored in vaults as a result of their decision to take delivery on the futures contracts they held. The Trustee's excuse was that they want to be sure that the owners of the gold are really the owners of the gold. (Huh?) Even if we give the Trustee the benefit of the doubt, and assume there's some confusion in the paperwork as to who owns what, how long can it take to resolve this? And why wouldn't the Trustee prioritize giving account holders access to their assets?
I'll have more to say about all this, but for now, here's what I think is going on - and I'm frankly a bit reluctant to admit this. But here goes.
It's beginning to look like the customers are being screwed, and the big boys are being protected. One of the big boys is, of course, Jon Corzine. Okay, maybe I'm behind the curve in facing the reality that the customers are being screwed - royally screwed. It's just that I really do try to avoid falling into the "I'm screwed/we're all screwed" camp that seems to be growing bigger and more vocal with every passing day of this biggest economic and financial crisis of our lifetimes. It's too easy to slip into a mentality of feeling sorry for yourself. It's also bad for your soul to be envious of others, which I think many of us are guilty of from time to time.
But back to why Corzine won't be prosecuted: if it's true that the big boys are being protected, then you'd expect to see them strut around without fear, wouldn't you? And that does seem lto be the way Corzine's behaving, from the time his firm collapsed, through his disgraceful congressional hearings (where he was treated basically with kid gloves) to his now looking to take office space. All I know is if I were responsible for losing client money due to mistakes, oversight, incompetence, or whatever other lame excuse he's given, I'd be mortified and, frankly, afraid - or at least embarrassed - to show my face for a long time. Never mind if I had been guilty of taking clients' money for my own benefit (a/k/a stealing) even if I had intended to return it.
(Imagine someone robbing cash from you on the street or by breaking into your home, then telling you they intended to return your stuff, except that someone else, let's say their girlfriend, spent the money before they could return it. I'm sure you tell the guy, "no problem," right?)
So it sure looks like Corzine won't be prosecuted. Or, at the very least, Corzine certainly isn't too worried about it.
Meanwhile, account holders of his failed firm MF Global wait for their money - and wait and wait. Among the latest outrages to come from the Trustee of the bankrupt firm was a refusal to allow account holders access to the precious metals (typically gold) that they have stored in vaults as a result of their decision to take delivery on the futures contracts they held. The Trustee's excuse was that they want to be sure that the owners of the gold are really the owners of the gold. (Huh?) Even if we give the Trustee the benefit of the doubt, and assume there's some confusion in the paperwork as to who owns what, how long can it take to resolve this? And why wouldn't the Trustee prioritize giving account holders access to their assets?
I'll have more to say about all this, but for now, here's what I think is going on - and I'm frankly a bit reluctant to admit this. But here goes.
It's beginning to look like the customers are being screwed, and the big boys are being protected. One of the big boys is, of course, Jon Corzine. Okay, maybe I'm behind the curve in facing the reality that the customers are being screwed - royally screwed. It's just that I really do try to avoid falling into the "I'm screwed/we're all screwed" camp that seems to be growing bigger and more vocal with every passing day of this biggest economic and financial crisis of our lifetimes. It's too easy to slip into a mentality of feeling sorry for yourself. It's also bad for your soul to be envious of others, which I think many of us are guilty of from time to time.
But back to why Corzine won't be prosecuted: if it's true that the big boys are being protected, then you'd expect to see them strut around without fear, wouldn't you? And that does seem lto be the way Corzine's behaving, from the time his firm collapsed, through his disgraceful congressional hearings (where he was treated basically with kid gloves) to his now looking to take office space. All I know is if I were responsible for losing client money due to mistakes, oversight, incompetence, or whatever other lame excuse he's given, I'd be mortified and, frankly, afraid - or at least embarrassed - to show my face for a long time. Never mind if I had been guilty of taking clients' money for my own benefit (a/k/a stealing) even if I had intended to return it.
(Imagine someone robbing cash from you on the street or by breaking into your home, then telling you they intended to return your stuff, except that someone else, let's say their girlfriend, spent the money before they could return it. I'm sure you tell the guy, "no problem," right?)
So it sure looks like Corzine won't be prosecuted. Or, at the very least, Corzine certainly isn't too worried about it.
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