Free Bernie

    Friday, the Securities and Excuses Commission agreed to let three former Countrywide Financial executives avoid trial on Federal civil fraud and insider trading charges, sparing the alleged evil arch-villains a verdict that could be used against them in shareholder lawsuits or criminal prosecution by other enforcement hotshots.  All fraud-based charges were dropped, according to one defendant’s lawyer, and the alleged plunderers admitted no wrongdoing.


    For this, somebody, presumably the SEC itself, is collecting $25 million from a Countrywide escrow fund, $20 million from Bank of America, which acquired Countrywide, and an additional $22.5 million from some undisclosed payer, almost certainly Bank of America again under the kind of provisions buyouts generally flaunt.  The SEC came up with $67.5 million in fines and civil penalties against the allegedly evil trio, but none of the three have to pay a dime.

    Bank of America has already been hit for $8.4 billion in a 12-state settlement over Countrywide racketeering and $600 million to end a class-action suit by former Countrywide shareholders.  From Bank of America’s viewpoint, its share is like adding a tad under 5 bucks to a $1,000 fine.

    The Big Kahuna at California’s Countrywide had been charged with insider trading, reaping $139 million between October 2006 and October 2007 while writing emails since 2004 that described company paper as toxic, suckering uninformed borrowers into loans by asking for no proof of income and no down payment, and then hitting them with adjustable rates generating unaffordable monthly payments a few years down the road.  Countrywide became the nation’s largest home mortgage lender through that swindle, and their alleged Don’s annual salary was 6% of company net income, obscene even by racketeering standards.  The alleged Crime Lord has yet to face charges in a courtroom.

    The SEC agreement stipulates that the Big Kahuna, about 72 years old now, can’t serve as an officer or director of a public company ever again, and says a second defendant can’t for 3 years. The third guy still can, we guess, and maybe even does.

    The U.S attorney’s office in Los Angeles is believed to be conducting a criminal investigation of Countrywide’s former lending practices, as if that prospect somehow makes Friday’s settlement okay.

    The SEC did this for bragging rights, we‘re told.  The Big Kahuna’s fine is the biggest ever against a public company’s CEO.  The Agency gets to “put his head on a pike and parade it around,” some lawyer offered.  Remember, others are paying all the fines here.

    Our regulatory hotshots at play.

    What are these people, nuts?

    Jails are for poor Blacks, Catholic priests, greedy Whites, and some others we get too depressed to even read about.  Looking at what Bernie Madoff did, scamming a few thousand of his closest friends, the ponzi artist’s punishment is beyond cruel and unusual.  Countrywide's alleged goons took down the civilized world and Iceland.  In light of Friday’s landmark agreement, setting the new greedy White standard, it’s clear that Bernie’s only mistake was in not selling his con to JP Morgan Chase as the walls came tumbling down, hardly reason to be so hard on the poor guy.

    Free Bernie, Free Bernie, Free Bernie, Free Bernie, Free Bernie.

    And make JP Morgan Chase or somebody give him back his dough.