ABC: FBI and Prosecutors 'Closing In' on AIG's Cassano

I have no idea what "closing in" means when you know someone's name and where they live and what they did, but ABC News has a story out saying that the Feds are closing in on AIG Financial Products' ex-honcho Joe Cassano. Maybe that means they have found good parking somewhere near his house in The City.

The FBI and federal prosecutors are reportedly closing in on the AIG executive whose suspect investments cost the insurance giant hundreds of billions of dollars. The government is investigating whether or not 54-year old Brooklyn-native Joseph Cassano committed criminal fraud in virtually bankrupting the company.

"He almost single-handedly is responsible for bringing AIG down and by reference the economy of this country," said Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Ca.)

Cassano, who lives in London, made more than $300 million running the infamous Financial Products Division of AIG where he, with about a dozen others, committed AIG to insure what turned out to be more than a trillion dollars worth of junk quality loans held by banks.

"He is the golden boy of the casino," said Rep. Speier. "They basically took peoples' hard earned money and threw it away, gambled it and lost everything. And he must be held accountable for the fraud, for the dereliction of his duty, and for the havoc that he's wrought on America."

When approached by ABC News outside of his London home Cassano said he did not walk to talk about the allegations against him.

More here.

Comments

[erniem:]

We need scapegoats and why not use a real one?

Mar 31 09:21 AM

[FreeMktFailure:]

A lot of people deserve to go to jail. He is definately one of them.

Mar 31 09:25 AM

[Vegasjoe:]

Off with his head!

Mar 31 09:26 AM

[Nuh-huh:]

This is the guy people, not the current AIG-FP staff who are working for very little (for example, Jake DeSantis had an annual salary of $1 when the mob ran him out) in order to try to recoup something for the American taxpayer. See Gretchen Morgenstern's NYTimes article from 9/28/08 if you need to learn about what really happened at AIG-FP, but in short, Cassano found a way to bet our money: heads he wins, tails WE lose. Git him.

Mar 31 09:49 AM

[debtacid:]

The FBI is a joke. Where were they 5 years ago? 10 years ago?

Mar 31 12:36 PM

[swains:]

What this means is that if this administration can't find a law that was broken, not to worry, they'll make one up.

Who dares oppose Obama. Please send your name and home address to your state attorney general immediately. You must have done something wrong and they will get you.

Mar 31 02:05 PM

[Candor7:]

Agreed.

The FBI needs to roll up the backwater right into Fannie and Freddie
and the whole subprime program. AIG was merely a funnel where the unconscionable happened. Who designed the whole scheme? Look no further that Golddman Sachs and Bernecke, who designed the whole subprime paper system, and look where he is. No wonder the FBI ain't lookin' under the right rocks. Gorelick, Franks, and a few regulators and Senators who made politics have people look the other way.Massive Ponzi scheme.

And if you want to see the vig, look at the state's Senators who have the highest residental mortgage default rates: Nevada ( 48%) Harry Reid, Arizona, Florida,Wisconsin,Colo...


On Mar 31 02:05 PM swains wrote:

> What this means is that if this administration can't find a law that
> was broken, not to worry, they'll make one up.
>
> Who dares oppose Obama. Please send your name and home address to
> your state attorney general immediately. You must have done something
> wrong and they will get you.

Mar 31 06:01 PM