Wasserstein dead (the guy that made Rahm Emanuel a multi-millionaire)

That's Rahm, "Dead Fish" Emanuel...

"In between his stints in Washington, Emanuel got rich working as an investment banker. He once sat on the board of Freddie Mac and recuses himself from any Congressional votes on the mortgage giant."

"Has been known to send out cheesecakes from Eli's Bakery in Chicago to campaign donors and the many Democratic candidates he has recruited over the years. Once, when a pollster made him angry, Emanuel sent him a dead fish."

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1856965,00.html
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(Sonny opens a package to find two fish wrapped in Luca's bulletproof vest.)

Sonny: What the hell is this?

Pete Clemenza: It's a Sicilian message. It means Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Godfather
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He was a leading strategist in many Clinton initiatives.........including the unsuccessful White House efforts by Hillary to institute universal healthcare.........

But he and Hillary did not get along. She tried to have him fired (IIRC) and so Hillary got one of those proverbial knives in the back.... if 'you know' what I mean.

Carl Icahn said of Wasserstein...

"I don't think too many things really bothered him. I think he had a great deal of belief in himself."

I bet that's not an operative statement at this point in time! Death has a way of putting things in perspective.

Oh my word. I had no idea that dead bodies were wracking up from proximity to the Obama. And another McDougal, too, eh?

Heart attack

Me too, I am not familiar with that book The History of Lizard Feces. Not sure I want to read it.

Kenyacide?

THINGS WE DO NOT KNOW ABOUT RAHM Did Rahm reveal all of his ties to financial institutions involved in Obama's trillion dollar federal bailout of financials?

THINGS WE KNOW ABOUT RAHM Wonder Boy Rahm became a multi-millioniare overnight. He resigned as advisor to Bill Clinton in 1998, to become an investment banker with Wasserstein Perella and worked there until 2002. In 1999, Rahm became managing director at the Chicago office. According to Congressional disclosure statements, Rahm Emanuel made $16.2 million at Wasserstein Perella. Rahm worked on eight deals, including the acquisition by Commonwealth Edison of Peco Energy and the purchase by GTCR Golder Rauner of the SecurityLink home security unit from SBC.

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Goldman Sachs Will Be Sitting Pretty With Emanuel in the Obama White House
By: Timothy P. Carney, Examiner Columnist, Nov 21, 2008

Goldman Sachs always has clout in Washington, as evidenced by the firm’s alumni serving as Treasury secretaries under both Presidents Bush and Clinton. Today, in these tumultuous times of bailouts and meltdowns when the investment banking leviathan needs Washington more than ever before, Goldman can leverage its most valuable asset yet—incoming White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. Goldman Sachs is the giant of Wall Street, and more than any other investment bank, Goldman is surviving the current financial storm.

Traditionally a Democratic booster, and one of Barack Obama’s top sources of funds in this past election, Goldman has always had some particularly strong allies within government. Emanuel is one such ally. An interesting early chapter in the Goldman-Emanuel relationship took place in the setting of Bill Clinton’s campaign for the White House in 1992. Clinton hired Emanuel as his chief fundraiser.

At the same time, however, Emanuel was on the payroll of Goldman Sachs, receiving $3,000 per month from the firm to “introduce us to people,” in the words of one Goldman partner at the time. This is certainly a noteworthy relationship, but it’s one that has almost entirely escaped scrutiny. (snip)

In his four terms in Congress, Emanuel has raised $74,750 from Goldman, making the firm his number four source of funds. Goldman has helped Emanuel. How has Emanuel helped Goldman? The most obvious answer, as mentioned in this column two weeks ago, is in Emanuel’s lead role in shepherding the “$700 billion” bailout—first proposed by former a Goldman CEO, Bush Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson—through the skeptical House.

Of course, back in the Clinton days, Goldman benefited from NAFTA and the bailout of the Mexican currency, with Emanuel pushing NAFTA through Congress, and Rubin hammering out the peso bailout. Did Goldman improperly funnel money to the Clinton campaign by subsidizing Emanuel’s salary in 1992? Did Goldman’s help to Clinton spur the Democratic president to push NAFTA and the Mexican bailout?

The answers to these questions are opaque, and with Emanuel burrowed deep within the Obama White House, the continued relationship between Goldman Sachs and Obama’s right hand man won’t be easy to follow.

Watch which regulations of Wall Street Obama fights for. Watch where the bailout money goes. And don’t be surprised Goldman soon sitting pretty once again.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/TimothyCarney/ Goldman_Sach_Will_Be_Sitting_Pretty_With_Emanuel_in_the_Obama_White_House_112108.html

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GOOD FOR GOLDMAN, BAD FOR AMERICA (G/S the major toll collector on govt's red-ink railroad)
BY TERRY KEENAN, anchor of Cashin' In, Fox News Sat 11:30 AM.

EXCERPT G/S morphed into a commercial bank to take advantage of gov't handouts, yet Goldman is really a hedge fund on steroids, with trading accounting for 69% of gross revenue in the first quarter........ a big chunk of its trading involves US govt debt -- federal, state and local...... G/S has a huge vested interest in the US digging a deeper and deeper hole.........trading govt IOUs is big business.....one of the few growth markets on Wall Street. IPO's, M&A's, etc, have yet to recover but the US will borrow a record $3.25 trillion in the current fiscal year -- four times as much as in 2008. With its biggest competitors out of business, G/S is a major toll collector on Washington's red-ink railroad.......a "debt tsunami" that will lift Goldman's fortunes. G/S plays on the bankrupting of America -- the more we borrow, the more they make........ but the American public should know this side of the G/S profit miracle. .......Through savvy trading and management, G/S set aside $11.4B this year to compensate its employees on a playing field cleared of its top competitors and soon after Uncle Sam bailedout G/S with $10B TARP -- and millions more through AIG, all paid for by taxpayers. G/S benefits nicely from the govt borrowing binge that was triggered in part by the banking crisis that started in Wall Street's own backyard.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07192009/business/good_for_goldman__bad_for_america_180130.htm

" Get ready to roll, boys. Eliot Ness just called."

“While everyone else was fighting the Vietnam War, he was studying English takeover law at Cambridge.”

Last evening when I finally got around to reading the synopsis of how the “foundation manipulation” works, the first thing that came into my mind was Rahm-E foundation that owns his home......Any way it can be checked?

HMmm billionaire marries 29 yr old and dies 9 months later under mysterious circumstances.

As a Congressman, Rahm Emanuel, and his wife, ran a tax-exempt foundation from their Chicago residence. "The Rahm Emanuel and Amy Rule Charitable Trust" was formed in 2002, when Rahm was first elected to Congress. Emanuel’s 4228 North Hermitage home is one of the largest in the neighborhood. Other nearby homes are valued in the $500,000 plus range.

The Emanuel Foundation gets income tax write-offs by Rahm's $25,000 donations to his Synagogue and to his Foundation....and lets Rahm expense personal outlays.

REFERENCE January 2007 USA Today reported on Emanuel and his wife’s tax-exempt "foundation" (operated out of their Chicago residence). The tax-exempt "Rahm Emanuel and Amy Rule Charitable Trust" was formed in 2002, when the Chicagoan was first elected to Congress.

At one point the Emanuels did not pay real estate taxes b/c their residence is the tax-exempt foundation's office. According to the Cook County Assessor’s website multi-millionaire Rahm Emanuel's Chicago home doesn’t exist. There seems to be no public record of Emanuel ever paying property taxes on this home.

The Cook County Assessor’s and Cook County Treasurer’s online records indicate Emanuel’s neighbors pay between $3,500-$7,000 annually. Illinois Review was unable to locate any evidence that Emanuel--- a multi-millionaire--- is paying taxes.

Rumor has it that the Emanuels now pay some taxes on the property, probably due to negative public scrutiny.

RAHM'S CHICAGO HOME Nice big house, politically correct solar panels, big yard, one way street, 2.5 baths, 2,791 square feet.

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Democrats put own money into charitable foundations
USA TODAY (Arlington, VA)
Monday, January 29, 2007
Author: Matt Kelley: (c) USA TODAY WASHINGTON

Rep. Rahm Emanuel made millions as an investment banker. Sen. Evan Bayh had leftover cash after two successful campaigns for Indiana governor. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, became wealthy investing in real estate and technology firms. It was with this money that each of these Democrats started a charitable foundation.

Emanuel, Bayh and Nancy Pelosi are officers of the foundations that carry their names but failed to disclose the fact on their annual financial disclosure reports filed with Congress. Tax records show the foundations donated mostly to hometown charities that reflect the lawmakers’ personal and political attitudes. None of the foundations received donations from outside sources.

The oldest and most prominent of the three is the Paul and Nancy Pelosi Charitable Foundation. Created in 1992, the non-profit has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent years. The charity reported having about $576,000 on hand at the end of 2005 after donating $316,000 to other charities that year. Georgetown University, Paul Pelosi’s alma mater, was the biggest recipient of the foundation’s giving. Georgetown received nearly $300,000 since 2003, including $10,000 to the university’s Wall Street Alliance, a group that raises the university’s profile in the financial community. Vincent Wolfington, a Georgetown classmate and business partner of Paul Pelosi, was vice chairman of the alliance at the time of the donation. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art received more than $80,000 from the Pelosi foundation in recent years.

Roselyne Swig, a longtime friend and financial backer of the House speaker, is on the museum’s board of directors. The congresswoman has represented a part of San Francisco since 1987.

The Rahm Emanuel and Amy Rule Charitable Trust was formed in 2002, when the Chicago lawmaker was first elected. The former Clinton White House aide and his wife, Amy Rule , are its only donors. Emanuel was an investment banker after serving in the White House. The trust reported having $2,900 on hand at the end of 2005 after receiving $34,000 from Emanuel and donating more than $31,000. During the past three years, Emanuel ‘s charity gave nearly $25,000 to the Anshe Emet synagogue and school in Chicago, and $15,000 to the foundation run by former president Bill Clinton. It also gave $14,000 to Marwen, a Chicago charity that provides art classes and other educational help to low-income children. Rule is on Marwen’s board.

The Evan and Susan Bayh Foundation, also formed in 2002, reported having $663,000 in assets at the end of 2005. It gave $55,000 in 2004 and 2005 to a charity that provides direct financial assistance to Indiana National Guard members and their families. Nearly all of the foundation’s funding came from money left over from Bayh’s gubernatorial campaigns. Bayh served two terms as Indiana governor, leaving office in 1997. State law allows candidates to transfer campaign funds to charities. Bayh doesn’t plan to raise any more money for the foundation, said Meghan Keck, his spokeswoman.

I have asked that question to some reporters via email...never a reply. Probably frightened.

Rahm Emanuel: From Clinton aide to money maker - He made friends and then a fortune
Chicago Tribune - Sunday, November 9, 2003
Author: Mike Dorning, Washington Bureau.

EXCERPT

Throughout his career, Emanuel has anchored his success in the spheres of public life where political and economic power are joined together most closely. He rocketed into national politics because of his proficiency as a fundraiser, helping Richard Daley secure resources to win his first mayoral term in 1989 and later spearheading fundraising for Clinton’s 1992 campaign.

In the White House, he was Clinton’s political director and later a senior adviser to the president. One of his signature successes was his work with William Daley in securing passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement, marking a turning point in the Democratic Party toward the free-trade interests of corporate America and away from the protectionist demands of labor unions.

During the short break from politics he took after leaving the Clinton administration, Emanuel chose in investment banking a field that allowed him to take full advantage of the contacts he developed with corporate titans during his political career. Timing also was helpful. The then-soaring stock market spawned a rush of mergers and acquisitions during the late 1990s and into 2000, making investment banking extremely profitable for major players.

All of that already was clear when Emanuel left the White House in October 1998 and three months later took a job as a Chicago-based managing director for Wasserstein .

” Bruce was always anxious to bring high-profile, well-known people into the franchise,” said Rolfe Kopelan, managing partner of Capstone Partnership, a firm that specializes in Wall Street recruiting. “That varnishes your own image. Bruce was very involved in Democratic politics. So Rahm Emanuel would have been attractive to him.”

In a statement issued through a spokesman, Wasserstein , now the chief executive officer for the investment bank Lazard LLC, said: “ Rahm did a great job for our firm. Energetic and extremely popular in the Midwest, he had a keen understanding of the interplay of regulatory aspects and corporate activity in financial advisory work, particularly in the utility and bank industries.”

According to congressional disclosure statements, Emanuel received $16.2 million from Wasserstein , based on fees that the bank earned from eight clients. In each case, he worked to land the business either through a key executive he had come to know during his political career or was provided an introduction by a contact he developed through his political work.

Three of those clients were corporations controlled by major Democratic donors who developed relationships with Emanuel through their involvement in national party politics: Loral Space and Communications Ltd., headed by Schwartz, who celebrated his 71st birthday at the White House; Slim-Fast, headed by Abraham; and GenTek Inc., a telecommunications manufacturer headed by Paul Montrone.

Schwartz said Emanuel contacted him shortly after leaving the White House, and the defense industry CEO responded with an invitation to meet at his New York office. He said he hired Emanuel to explore potential deals with other companies, which he declined to describe.

“He knew a lot of high-level people in U.S. corporations, and they respected him,” Schwartz said. “So he can get to the high level of corporations to present ideas. And that’s half the battle: to get to the right people, so you don’t waste a lot of time.”

Another Emanuel client, medical equipment manufacturer Lumenis, is controlled by Arie Genger, a financial backer and confidant of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who has served as a back channel between Sharon and the Bush administration.

Emanuel said he forged a relationship with Genger through work on health-care policy, first encountering the Israeli-American businessman at a talk Emanuel gave on the topic while on the White House staff.

Genger did not return repeated calls, but Emanuel and the company’s former CEO both said he led a Wasserstein team representing Lumenis in the acquisition of Coherent Medical, a California-based laser manufacturer.

Two more clients were institutions with deep ties in the Daley administration: the Chicago Board Options Exchange and Avolar, a since-disbanded business jet subsidiary of United Airlines. Emanuel was hired at CBOE by Chairman William Brodsky, an active player in Chicago politics. At Avolar, it was CEO Stuart Oran, a former chief lobbyist for United who had come to know Emanuel through his lobbying work and through local political and cultural activities.

Brodsky said he hired Emanuel to represent the exchange in negotiations with the Chicago Board of Trade over a governance issue. Brodsky said he based the decision largely on impressions of Emanuel that he formed through contacts they had while Emanuel was a Daley fundraiser and White House aide.

“It was really because I had such confidence in Rahm from my previous dealings with him,” Brodsky said. “There were political dimensions to this. It wasn’t just crunching the numbers. In membership organizations, you have to deal with personalities.”

Oran declined a request for an on-the-record interview.

By Emanuel’s account, he benefited most from two big deals. One was representing Unicom, the former corporate parent of Commonwealth Edison, in an $8.2 billion merger with Pennsylvania-based Peco Energy Co. The other was representing GTCR Golder Rauner, a Chicago-based venture capital fund managed by Rauner, in its purchase of the SecurityLink home security unit from SBC Communications.

Rauner said he first met Emanuel for lunch at the suggestion of Erskine Bowles, the former chief of staff for Clinton. For Unicom chairman and CEO John Rowe, it was breakfast at the suggestion of Lester Crown, a billionaire who is a major shareholder in defense contractor General Dynamics. Crown said he developed a strong relationship with Emanuel through their mutual involvement in Chicago’s tight-knit civic establishment.

“When Rahm was going to come into town [after leaving the White House], I called John and said, `You should get to know him. This is someone you could use in business,’” Crown said.

“There were a lot of good investment banking firms that could handle this on a technical level,” Rowe said. But in a merger that combined regulatory, political and economic issues, he said, “ Rahm seemed to give that extra bit to think about the pieces and how they fit strategically.”

Emanuel’s involvement also proved valuable because of the timing of the merger, announced shortly after Daley and other local officials savaged ComEd for its laggardly response to summer blackouts in 1999. Emanuel’s relationship with the mayor and his skill in massaging political issues proved crucial in overcoming the blackout backlash, said bankers and executives involved in the deal.

While the Unicom-Peco merger came together relatively quickly, GTCR’s purchase of SecurityLink was a troubled transaction that stretched on for a year and nearly collapsed when the venture capital company could not get a bank to finance the deal at the agreed price. Emanuel had brought the idea to GTCR, and his strong relationship with executives at SBC helped keep it alive, Rauner said.

Worked relentlessly

” Rahm was relentless. He, in his heart of hearts, knew this should work,” said David Donnini, the GTCR principal who worked most closely on the deal. “I remember getting a call from him almost every day, throwing out ideas to make it work, some crazy, some not.”

Under a regulatory deadline to divest itself of SecurityLink, SBC financed all but $100 million of GTCR’s $479 million purchase of the firm. Less than six months later, GTCR resold the company for $1 billion, earning a quick $500 million on its investment.

(post #35 - no link available)

What about the guy that worked at the State Dept. passport office that was shot in his car?

lol

FYI: http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/theclog/2008/08/01/the-obama-death-list-hoax/