[LomanBill]

"As a managing director at JPMorgan Chase, Mr. LeCroy persuaded the county to convert its debt from fixed interest rates to adjustable rates. He also recommended that the county use interest-rate swaps that he said would protect it if interest rates rose. "

 

Jefferson County Alabama is not Mr. LeCroy's and JP Morgans only municipal prey:

 

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=LeCroy+JP+Morgan+Philadelphia+Indicted&btnG=Search

[Sicon]

“Ya know what this county needs, sir? A monorail!”

[Ron Jeremy]

Look, fixed vs. floating is a pretty simple concept. Now, I know what JPM would have showed them, as I saw these pitches numerous times from 2002-2005 or so.

A very simple presentation showing that, over time, going variable is the right thing to do. You almost always end up ahead by going variable.

Sometimes you don’t, but, for various reasons X,Y, and Z, we, JP Morgan, don’t think that there is much of a threat of significantly rising interest rates.

That is all the pitch would have been. It’s not a difficult concept. Jefferson County took a bet, and lost. It’s their fault, not JPM’s.

[LomanBill]

"The money powers prey upon the nation in times of peace and conspire
against it in times of adversity.  It is more despotic than a monarchy, more
insolent than autocracy and more selfish than a bureaucracy.  It denounces,
as public enemies, all who question its methods or throw light upon its
crimes.  I have two great enemies, the Southern Army in front of me and the
bankers in the rear.  Of the two, the one at the rear is my greatest foe."

-- President Abraham Lincoln, letter to William Elkins, Nov 21, 1864

 

[em2vn]

Shades of Joplin, Missouri.

[WarEagle]

Is Larry Langford a crook or a schmuck? The JPMC guy and Blount have raked in millions in commissions, and the SEC is alleging that Langford got $54,000 total in the deal.

I vote for schmuck.

What the article doesn't say is now he's Mayor of Birmingham. It will be interesting to see if the city manages to escape bankruptcy under his stellar leadership.

[bamahead]

...and Larry P. Langford, the local official who signed off on the deals.



Then I have litte sympathy for the people of Jefferson County, who put the corrupt and shiftless Langford into power. This con artist has been lining his and his crony's coffers with taxpayer dollars for almost 40 years. The idiot populace of Birmingham, who vote based on race rather than merit, deserve what they get.

The only ones I do feel somewhat sorry for would be the outer edges of JeffCo, who don't vote for this twit. However, they're the ones who ran away from the city in the 60's and took their votes with them, and now the fruits of that exodus are coming home to roost.

Those who migrated to Shelby County are no doubt laughing.

[MHGinTN]

I used to play tennis with Larry ... sad to see he was duped in this way, because he is basically an honest man with a good heart.

[machenation]

Freedom is:
Putting a bullet on the railroad tracks, dowsing the bullet with lighter fluid and lighting the fluid to see the bullet explode. Education is not a commodity that can be ignored.

[Bryan24]

Just a note to all out of staters:

The mayor of Birmingham, Larry Langford, is basically a con artist. He’s a radical stuck in the 1970s.

The City of Birmingham has been gutted by the administrations of Richard Arrington and now Larry Langford. Both are black and basically ran a “if you are not black you can’t run the city” platfrom.

The black politicians in Birmingham view the city and Jefferson County as their personal “get-rich-now” playgrounds.