In the The Very Late News, we examined the media’s late and lazy reporting on important stories related to the 2008 financial crisis. Today the New York Times does it again with Financial Crisis, No Prosecutions of Top Figures. The lead reporter, Gretchen Morgenson, has a weekly column in the Times. She is no neophyte on issues of financial fraud. Why has it taken the New York Times three years from the onset of the crisis to report the lack of prosecution of Wall Street criminal conduct?
A Lame Apology
Morgenson asks the hot question: why has there been no prosecution of high profile executives? But instead of hitting hard, she opines on the “complexities of pursuing legal cases in times of panic.” In a meeting between the Fed’s Tim Geithner and Andrew Cuomo, Geithner never suggested “any lack of diligence or a slowdown” in ongoing investigations. He did not have to. He was the perfect third base coach. All he needed to do was run through the signs: “bunt, take, hit – Do Not Prosecute.” Mr. Cuomo did not miss the “don’t prosecute” sign.
The remainder of the Times article explains why federal prosecutors chose not to bring an action. I recommend it in its entirety for a treatise on federal and state prosecutorial delay, obfuscation and denial. The article begins and ends with Andrew Cuomo, but where were the other government prosecutors?
Coincidence
Also today, the Times reports on the 650 page Senate Permanent Subcommittee report: “Wall Street and the Financial Crisis: Anatomy of a Financial Collapse.” From Senator Carl Levin, head of the subcommittee:
“The report pulls back the curtain on shoddy, risky, deceptive practices on the part of a lot of major financial institutions” …“The overwhelming evidence is that those institutions deceived their clients and deceived the public, and they were aided and abetted by deferential regulators and credit ratings agencies who had conflicts of interest.” See Naming Culprits in the Financial Crisis
Will we be prosecuting these offensive deceptive practices?
Banks and Bonds
Ironically, today’s Times also reports that Barry Bonds was convicted of one count of obstruction of justice. The investigation of steroid use in baseball started in 2002. After nine years of investigation, huge prosecutorial resources and 25 government witnesses, the government could not prove that Mr. Bonds used steroids.
Too bad Mr. Bonds is a baseball player rather than a Wall Street bank. Perhaps if his name were Ernie Banks instead of Barry Bonds, he could have confused the prosecutors, who might have overlooked the offense. We don’t want to rattle or hurt the Banks.
Dual Standard of Justice
Bonds stole no money, yet the full force of Congress and federal prosecutors pursued him for years. Banks that stole billions and nearly destroyed the economy were deemed too fragile to prosecute. These “fragile” banks were back in business with near record bonuses in 2009 and 2010. We have a dual standard of justice that weakens all respect for law.
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Related posts:
- The Very Late News
- “Justice” for the Poor and a Pass for the Rich?
- Above the Law: Too Big to Jail
- Many Answers, No Solutions
- Some Random Thoughts on Goldman
Tags: Andrew Cuomo, banks, Gretchen Morgenson, prosecution, The New York Times, Timothy Geithner
