To: Bill who wrote (353018 ) 2/3/2003 5:20:13 PM From: Neocon Read Replies (1) | Respond to Well, The Austin Chronicle:Bush wasn't just an average S&L exec drawing a big salary and recklessly pushing a federally insured institution beyond its lending limits. As a director of a failing thrift in Denver, Bush voted to approve $100 million in what were ultimately bad loans to two of his business partners. And in voting for the loans, he failed to inform fellow board members at Silverado Savings & Loan that the loan applicants were his business partners. Federal banking regulators later followed the trail of defaulted loans to Neil Bush oil ventures, in particular JNB International, an oil and gas exploration company awarded drilling concessions in Argentina -- despite its complete lack of experience in international oil and gas drilling. It probably helped that the Bush family had cultivated close ties with the fabulously corrupt Carlos Menem, former president of Argentina. austinchronicle.com Federal regulators accused Neil Bush of conflicts of interest for failing to disclose personal ties to two Silverado borrowers who defaulted on loans, but he was never charged. During the height of the controversy, critics posted ``Jail Neil Bush'' posters on lampposts in Washington. philly.com Heading south on I-25, the Silverado name still graces the building near Colorado Boulevard and East Mexico that the feds took over a decade ago. Silverado made headlines for years after its failure because President George Bush's son, Neil, was on the board of directors. Neil Bush eventually was sanctioned by the regulators for, among other things, taking a $100,000 no-payback loan from Ken Good, a big Silverado borrower. bizjournals.com Neil Bush was a director of the Silverado Savings and Loan Association, which collapsed during the mid-1980s and cost taxpayers nearly $1 billion. He was accused of conflicts of interest but was never charged with criminal wrongdoing, though he did pay a $50,000 fine to the FDIC. washingtonpost.com
