Corzine: 'I Simply Do Not Know Where The Money Is'

Wall Street Journal ^ | December 8, 2011 | SCOTT PATTERSON and AARON LUCCHETTI

[lbryce]

A contrite Jon S. Corzine will express both sorrow and a firm defense of his actions Thursday in his first public appearance since the collapse of MF Global Holdings Ltd. in late October.

"Recognizing the enormous impact on many peoples' lives resulting from the events surrounding the MF Global bankruptcy, I appear at today's hearings with great sadness," Mr. Corzine plans to say in testimony prepared for a hearing by the House Agriculture Committee, which subpoenaed the former MF Global chief executive Friday. A copy of the testimony was released early Thursday on the panel's website. The testimony Thursday is sure to be contentious. Mr. Corzine, who resigned as chairman and CEO of MF Global after its Oct. 31 bankruptcy filing, is a Democrat and former U.S. senator and governor of New Jersey.

He will face an intense grilling by the Republican-led committee, creating an atmosphere fraught with political drama. Mr. Corzine, 64 years old, received President Barack Obama's support in 2009 for his unsuccessful campaign for re-election as governor, and more recently held a fund-raising dinner for Mr. Obama.

Much of the day's testimony is likely to focus on a significant shortfall in customer funds at MF Global. As Mr. Corzine scrambled to stabilize the firm in its last days, it was discovered that hundreds of millions of dollars were missing in customer accounts.

The trustee overseeing MF Global's liquidation estimates the amount at $1.2 billion. Mr. Corzine will say in his testimony that he had little to do with the mechanics of moving customer cash and collateral and that he was "stunned" when he learned on Oct. 30 that the money was missing.

"I simply do not know where the money is," he will say, noting that "there were an extraordinary number of transactions during MF Global's

[lbryce]

A contrite Jon S. Corzine will express both sorrow and a firm defense of is actions..

Explain this. How does someone express both sorrow (boo-hoo, boo-hoo, I'm so sorry all those billions are missing without a trace, won't happen again, promise. sniff, sniff) says he doesn't know where the money is and then claims to offers a 'firm' defense of his actions? If you don't know where the money is, what sort of "firm" defense could you possibly conjure up?

Well, Senator, after we stacking up the billions it up in row after row of neatly piled $100 bills, placed them in duffel bags, I lost track of them and simply don't know where the money NOW is. (Confers with his lawyer for a moment). Senator, how about my dog ate the financial records, will you accept my dog ate the financial records?

[A CA Guy]

He was the head of this, so who else is responsible?
Who can move all that money without him and is that what records show?

I think we are seeing the money vanished, and that takes a lot of powere to do that, not people under Corzine.

Did it go to Obama and the DNC I wonder?

[Thermalseeker]

Okay, so lock him in stocks on the Capital steps and let all the people whose money he lost throw rotten tomatoes at him for a week or so. Maybe that will jog his memory.

[lbryce]

Correction:Well, Senator, after stacking up the billions of dollars in row after row of neatly piled $100 bills, then placing them in duffel bags, I lost track of them and simply don’t know where the money is NOW. (Confers with his lawyer for a moment). Senator, how about my dog ate the financial records, will you accept my dog ate the financial records?

[Elle Bee]

that's what they should say about the key when they lock him up.... but they won't ... that's just for little people and Corzine is about to play the victim card

.

[tobyhill]

It's in Obama’s pocket.

[Chainmail]

Waterboard him with all the rest of the corporate officers until they break.

Thieves.

[marstegreg]

Since this is Biden’s “go to” guy, has anyone checked the DNC coffers?

[RinaseaofDs]

It’s funny how Sarbanes-Oxley was designed to hold CEO’s PERSONALLY ACCOUNTABLE, and yet no CEO has ever been cleaned out for perpetrating any of the crap that’s happened since 2004.

[immadashell]

"I simply do not know where the money is," he will say..."

"And, Oh by the way does anyone know where I left my car keys?"

[Riodacat]

Ahhhh, the old Sgt Schultz defense:

[LRS]

ooh ooh ooh! I know! Look in Obama’s stash!

[jiggyboy]

I was about to post on S-O myself. If he doesn’t get the maximum penalty, then S-O has no meaning.

[Doogle]

...ISSA should start to call “other” witnesses, especially all those who told Corzine what he was doing was stupid and risky. With all the technology for tracing Islamic terrorist money it should be easy to have the DOJ ....?????...oh how convenient.

[RinaseaofDs]

I agree.

Who writes this stuff? “I took sequestered money, and I had a good reason?”

Really?

Send him to Corcoran and lock him up until he can figure out what happened to it.

We used to hang people for stealing horses.

[ngat]

“I simply do not know where the money is,”...

Okay, so who at MF Global SHOULD know?

[Polyxene]

‘I Simply Do Not Know Where The Money Is’

Poor Jonny is suffering from DSMLS: (Democrat Selective Memory Loss Syndrome) It affects any Democrat testifying before a Congressional committee.

[I am Richard Brandon]

What would our country be like if the Administration were all guilty of criminal acts, and when called to account, they all said "I didn't know . . .", "Nobody told me . . .", "The memo never reached my desk . . .", "My staff dealt with that, I did not read it . . ", "I was not aware . . ." "I have no idea . . ."

Wait a moment, I DO know what it would be like - we've got it now. I am waiting for the the GOP to use all these 'denials' in a devastating commercial. Waiting! Waiting! Waiting!

[4yearlurker]

Now appearing..The Amazing Corzine!!

With a simple movement and gesture of his offshore accounts he will make billions of tax payer dollars disappear!!

WOW! isn't he something ladies & gentlemen!!?

[RinaseaofDs]

They say torture doesn’t work.

My experience says differently.

We should conduct an experiment to test this premise and I think we should use Corzine as the subject, and maybe a few of his employees as the control group.

We allow the control group to watch Corzine’s knees getting drilled using a fine bit, and then we’ll ask the control group what happened to the cash.

Scientific method dictates that you shouldn’t necessarily push an experiment toward an expected or desired result, but I can postulate that we’d have the answers we need probably before we could rack the battery into the drill.

There’s no coincidence that the feds are arming US police departments with grenade launchers and other military grade weapons. What we don’t know right now would likely cause us to overrun DC and start killing indescriminately.

That’s my guess.

Bob Woodward asked Al Gore, “How much do we actually know about what went on in the Clinton White House.” Gore replied, “1 percent.” Woodward the asked, “If you wrote a book on the subject, how much would we know then.” Gore replied, “2 percent.”

That was this week.