No criminal charges seen in AIG's collapse: TV report

[cory777]

Source: Reuters

Fri Apr 2, 8:48 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – CBS News reported late Friday that Joseph Cassano, the former AIG executive closely linked with the giant insurer's near collapse in September 2008, will meet with U.S. Justice Department attorneys next week in what will probably end the two-year criminal investigation into the company -- with no criminal charges likely to be filed.

AIG received a $182 billion federal bailout during the height of Wall Street's liquidity crisis in September 2008, when regulators feared that AIG's massive losses from complex transactions could crash the global financial system.

"Sources tell CBS News that the criminal case against Cassano - once called 'the Man who Crashed the World' - has 'hit a brick wall,'" the network said in an exclusive story published on its website.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100403/bs_nm/us_aig_cassano_cbs

[metapunditedgy]

1. The *REAL* charges should be levied against the Fed and the gov't officials

who handed tens of billions of taxpayer money to the banksters (Goldman Sachs first of all, of course) in the bailout of AIG.

AIG was selling contracts. Every contract includes the possibility that one side may default. Wall Street quantifies risk and gambles. That's pretty much the definition of Wall Street. When I gamble and lose, I lose. But when they lose, the taxpayers bail them out.

If you want to know just how "over a barrel" the typical American is, learn more about what went on with AIG.

[JDPriestly]

10. If, when the contract was entered into, the other party to the contract

was tricked by fraudulent representations or by failure to disclose material facts, then criminal charges would be brought. If one or the other party committed fraud, the party that committed the fraud could be charged. If the investigation is just beginning, there could still be a serious problem. Congress will probably get involved in this.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. The brick wall conveniently not named.

It all seems rather hopeless, doesn't it?
There is no law in this country, and we have value except for what is left in our wallets to be stolen in one form or the other.

[Dinger]

3. Sad, Just Sad (nt)

[Igel]

13. Brick walls don't have to be people.

They can be circumstances.

"Federal investigators have found no evidence that Cassano lied to his bosses or shareholders about AIG's financial problems, sources told CBS News, according to the exclusive story posted online."

Unless there's a single person with all the testimony, that they'd need to convict, along with all the documentation needed to support the testimony, the "brick wall" wouldn't have a single name. That seems highly unlikely. Ridiculously unlikely.

If there were more people involved, the brick wall would be a conspiracy and we're back to a circumstance.

Lack of evidence is the original brick wall in investigations. Doesn't mean it's not there; evidence could be found.

But there's another sort of ur-brickwall in trying to get to the root of large-scale problems. That is that the actions that led to the problem, while immoral, misguided, deceitful, etc., etc., just aren't illegal. (A lot of people have come to think "what's legal is moral" while others hold the belief that "what's immoral must be illegal." While there's a kind of correlation between legal and moral, it's far from absolute.)

[dmosh42]

4. Of course their might have been charges if....

we had a 'real' Attorney General! But Holder has been another continuation of Gonzalez-Mukasey, so we can expect nothing when it comes to justice.

[Lucky Luciano]

5. Last week I interviewed someone from AIG Financial Products (left in 2008)

I mostly asked him very technical questions, but I could not resist asking him WTF happened. He said the vast majority of people there were very conscientious about using the risk models and properly marking their books - and that they were very diligent about this. However....and he said this was probably less than 5 people....some were not so diligent and did not use sophisticated risk models that were set up...and that they did not mark things properly...or even keep records outside of a personal spreadsheet that other risk managers could have seen...The ones who were diligent were pretty saddened by this to say the least when the house of cards collapsed....Sounds criminal to me for those "less than 5" people.

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. Lucky....so good to see you agani.

Would you mind terribly expanding a wee bit more on what you wrote above?

Is this guy saying that those "5" people were just your average AIG traders?
They were not any company officials, etc?

Also, you interviewed him. Are you writing a book? Column?
None of my business?

Always find your insights and info. valuable, thanks.

[Lucky Luciano]

7. Probably cannot expand upon the above. Guy wanted it off the record.

Interview was for a job.

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. ohh..

got ya.

And good luck with job finding.
:thumbsup:

[Lucky Luciano]

9. Thanks! Though he was the one being interviewed!

Bright guy - I would hire him with the expectation that he could learn some of the things he did not nail in the interview. Had done some innovative work in the numerical solutions to partial differential equations which may be useful if he could implement it for us.


Should add that we are aggressively hiring highly technical people if anyone on DU cares. Anybody interested can PM me.

[dixiegrrrrl]

11. You KNOW there are folks like that here...can you do a separate post?

[Lucky Luciano]

14. OK - separate post finally posted!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=8085976&mesg_id=8085976

I needed some time to make it thoughtful and to list all the requirements. I also listed the books one would want to read from if they needed to learn some stuff. Honestly though, I doubt I will find anyone, but I am happy to give someone a chance.

[JackRiddler]

12. They may consider it dangerous to bring a single charge against one of the big guys...

because he would, of course, roll on others, as would they, and as one crooked deal is connected to the next and brings in other institutions, you'd get a chain reaction not unlike the one the bailout was supposed to prevent. One that might end up including Geithner and Paulson...