“..The new Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission may be the only opportunity to nail Wall Street.
As he ushered in a new era in Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s theme song was “Happy Days Are Here Again,” ..
.. but people tend to forget that along with sunny optimism FDR delivered a strong dose of justice.
He left that job to Ferdinand Pecora, a fierce New York prosecutor whom Roosevelt urged to investigate Wall Street’s perniciousness.
Pecora delivered big time.
He humiliated and forced the resignation of Charles Mitchell, the head of National City Bank (later Citibank)..
.. and oversaw a 12,000-page probe into the causes of the Great Depression that gave birth to a new regulatory framework..
.. including the Securities and Exchange Commission (Pecora was later one of the first commissioners).
Other Wall Streeters were prosecuted, convicted, and jailed.
The theme song to our current era might be, more appropriately, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.â€
Two years into the revelation that Wall Street was playing a giant confidence game with the world..
.. disguising bad and often fraudulent mortgages as highly rated securities, selling scam derivatives by the trillions..
.. there have been no major prosecutions.
Afloat in taxpayer bailouts and the giant bonuses they’re awarding themselves once again, Wall Streeters are back to being their feisty selves.
No executive has gone to jail.
The only ones who’ve resigned are those who had no choice ..
.. because their companies disappeared..”
go to source/story>>Can Angelides Panel Bring Justice to Wall Street? | Newsweek Voices – Michael Hirsh | Newsweek.com
