By Eric Fry
12/09/11 Laguna Beach, California – If wishes were horses, beggars would ride, according to a 16th century British proverb.
Continuing that logic, if wishes were $1.2 billion of missing client assets at MF Global, the company’s former CEO, Jon Corzine, would not be a criminal. But alas, wishes are neither horses nor missing client funds…so beggars don’t ride and CEO’s that “misplace” $1.2 billion of client funds are criminals.
Does Corzine deserve his day in court? Absolutely. Let’s give him several days in court…after which let’s give him several years in jail.
Perhaps there is a legitimate defense for Corzine’s overtly indefensible act. But we pity the poor defense attorney who has to come up with that one. In the heavily regulated, frequently audited and continuously marked-to-market world of broker-dealer operations, $1.2 billion does not simply “go missing”…and if it does, the CEO absolutely, positively knows about it, if he did not directly authorize it himself.
Were it not so, dear reader, Mr. Corzine would not have appeared before Congress yesterday with the lamest of all possible defenses. He would not have delivered a series of “oh my gosh,” “gee whiz,” “golly gee,” “I wish I knew what happened,” and “shucks, I feel awful” remarks.
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The facts as known thusfar earn him a cell right next to Madoff, for a decade or more.
Last week Rush mentioned the movie Margin Call. He also mentioned Lehman Brothers in passing.
I watched it Saturday night. It is a really good movie. The wife was captivated with the ongoing 24 hour unfolding of fantastic problems and very young guys involved. I can’t tell how accurate it is but it portrays the various kinds of individuals that would be involved in the MF debacle.