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Non-Tech : The ENRON Scandal -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Baldur Fjvlnisson who wrote (4266)	7/22/2002 5:44:25 PM
From: opalapril	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5185

Wall Street brokers meet the enemy -- and it is them. Lawsuit Alleges Major Brokerage Arranged Sweetheart Deals for CEOs Fired broker claims Salomon Smith Barney courted the business of powerful firms by giving them lucrative first access to IPOs NEW YORK Investment brokerage Salomon Smith Barney was accused last week of giving telecom CEOs special deals on hot new stocks as part of an illegal strategy to win their favor and further business contracts. David Chacon, a former Salomon broker based in Los Angeles, leveled the charges against the firm last week in a suit accusing the company of firing him for trying to blow the whistle on the deals. Chacon says Salomon's brokerage division gave sweetheart deals to powerful CEOs in order to curry favor for future contracts with the company's investment banking branch, according to the New York Times. Bernard Ebbers, formerly of WorldCom, and Joseph Nacchio, formerly of Qwest Communications, both of whom are now under a cloud of suspicion for alleged financial impropriety while running their firms, are among the executives identified in the lawsuit. Chacon's charges center on Salomon's handling of initial public offerings (IPOs), which often quickly doubled or tripled in value during the stock market bubble of the late 1990s. Salomon allegedly set aside most of its IPO offerings for the CEOs of firms that had signed lucrative banking deals with Salomon. Such arrangements are illegal only if a quid pro quo is attached to the deal. Chacon alleges that such a reciprocal arrangement was implicit and widely understood at Salomon, and hurt his less-affluent clients who missed out on the IPO offerings lavished on powerful CEOs. Chacon said he complained repeatedly to his supervisors, including his branch manager, his regional manager, and to Jay Mandelbaum, vice chairman of Salomon, without receiving any support. Less than two months after reportedly sending a memo to Mandelbaum, Chacon was fired. Salomon spokeswoman Arda Nazerian denied the existence of Chacon's memo, accusing him of fabricating the document and claiming that his allegations are "without merit and contain gross factual inaccuracies." Chacon, who is now a broker at another major Wall Street firm, told the Times that he was disappointed by Salomon's response. "There is nobody to turn to if you have concerns," Chacon said. "Even in a professional manner, it cannot be done." globalethics.org

To: Baldur Fjvlnisson who wrote (4266)	7/26/2002 9:44:13 PM
From: Mephisto	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5185

Baldur, after reading Bush's comments, I laughed. Bush lectures corporate America when Bush won't release Cheney's meeting minutes with Enron. And Bush refuses to release documents related to questions about his sale of Harken stock right b4 it crashed. If that isn't enough, W refuses to fire Thomas White, a former Enron executive who now heads up the ARMY!!! - Mephisto) >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Bush says, ""corporate America has got to understand there's a higher calling than trying to fudge the numbers" Excerpt from Uncle Worldcom Sam by Michael Chapman* TNA News with Commentary No. 442 July 2002 newaus.com.au >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> BACK TO BUSH STONEWALLING THE RELEASE OF DOCUMENTS RELATED TO HIS SALE OF HARKEN SHARES "The president again brushed aside a suggestion that he should ask the SEC to release documents from its 11-year-old inquiry into Mr Bush's timely sale of shares in the energy company Harken, where he was a director. "The key document said there is no case," he said. Then he changed the subject. "The key thing for the American people is to realise that the fundamentals for economic vitality and growth are there," he said. " guardian.co.uk Excerpt from the article, "Bush's praise could damn Cheney" Matthew Engel in Washington Thursday July 18, 2002 The Guardian

To: Baldur Fjvlnisson who wrote (4266)	7/26/2002 10:03:52 PM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 5185

[ Bush and sale of Harken Stock] "But the Harken story still has more to teach us, because the S.E.C. investigation into Mr. Bush's stock sale is a perfect illustration of why his tough talk won't scare well-connected malefactors. Mr. Bush claims that he was "vetted" by the S.E.C. In fact, the agency's investigation was peculiarly perfunctory. It somehow decided that Mr. Bush's perfectly timed stock sale did not reflect inside information without interviewing him, or any other members of Harken's board. Maybe top officials at the S.E.C. felt they already knew enough about Mr. Bush: his father, the president, had appointed a good friend as S.E.C. chairman. And the general counsel, who would normally make decisions about legal action, had previously been George W. Bush's personal lawyer - he negotiated the purchase of the Texas Rangers. I am not making this up." The above is an excerpt from the article, " The Insider Game" by Paul Krugman , The New York Times July 12, 2002 nytimes.com