OT--THE NEW HEAD OF THE SEC(from The New Republic)
LOOK WHO'S HEADING THE SEC.
Invested Interest
by Jonathan Chait
Post date 12.06.01 | Issue date 12.17.01
Harvey Pitt is not a household name. Until recently, the only people who regularly came across him were those in scrapes with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). For such individuals, however, Pitt was the man to see. He was considered the sharpest securities lawyer in the country, and while not everybody could afford his fees, those who could were generally pleased with the results. When the SEC charged Ivan Boesky with insider trading, he hired Pitt, who engineered a lighter-then-expected sentence. Over the decades, Pitt built an impressive roster of similarly well-heeled clients who stood accused by the SEC of securities fraud, misstating their finances, other pecuniary offenses. And he has put his persuasive talents to work not just for individuals but for large economic interests who do business with the SEC--on whose behalf he has prowled the corridors of Washington as a super-lobbyist. Most of the time, Pitt fought the SEC to a draw, or better.
But in August, Pitt entered a new line of work. The bad news for those having difficulties with the SEC is that they can no longer hire Pitt to defend their interests. The good news--and, taking all things into account, it vastly outweighs the bad--is that Pitt is now chairman of the SEC. Pitt, in other words, heads the agency charged with rooting out financial crime--which is roughly the equivalent of making Johnnie Cochran head of the FBI.
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