If you know anything about us, you know we're big fans of getting up in people's faces all self-righteously, even--especially-- if it means we have to throw the risk of stalking and aggravated assault charges into the mix. Though this has been a long cherished pastime of ours, it seems to have a real, topical place in this period of financial ruin, as many a Wall Street CEO has first caused the collapse of his or her institution, and second retreated to his her her custom-fitted, hermetically-sealed condom, despite the fact that there are a few people who would like a word with these masterful stewards of capital. So, we were delighted to see that Fox News correspondent/Geraldo Rivera doppelgänger Arnold Diaz took it upon himself to show up at former Lehman Brothers CEO Dick Fuld's home in Connecticut, clad in a leather trench coat, looking for answers.
Related: Bill O'Reilly's attempt to smoke Stan O'Neal out of his cave.
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 9:52AM
Get over it, find something else.
Posted by er666 , Nov 26, 2008 9:53AM
@1- get over yourself.
Posted by er666 , Nov 26, 2008 9:54AM
also @1- i love the assholes who want people to "just get over" leh. tell that to the thousands of people who lost, you know, everything. also the grand jury that is indicting dick fuld, erin callan, etc.
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 9:54AM
it's a day late! Fixed news sucks!
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 9:57AM
Some people on this forum claimed that Fox News was stalking ONeal simply because it was racist.
Where are those cretins now?
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 9:58AM
Fox news does suck, but the lengths they go to to actually suck lead them to suck in a big way.
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 10:01AM
Am I seeing this right? Obama speaks again today??? What's up with that? Are we going to see him on TV for every day of the next four years?
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 10:03AM
3 Its tough to lose money and your job, but was there fraud committed? No. Just basic incompetence, in large quantities. Remember too, no one lost more than Fuld. 1 is correct: this is a heartless game. When you play, be prepared to lose, sometimes big. And dont go crying. You don't like it, get a job with the post office.
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 10:04AM
Sorry what was I thinking. Continue with your witchhunt on a handful of fatcats and don't question mortgage brokers, the government or borrowers.
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 10:05AM
Fox News = Paragon of journalistic excellence. Fighting for the little man since 1996. You go get 'em, Ch 5!
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 10:05AM
@7 - he has to appear like he knows what he is doing when he really has no clue. his CHANGE is finding every Dem retread from the last 25 years and putting them back in power. i guess id rather that then him pull out the hammer and sickle
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 10:06AM
@ 10
i JO&C to rosannna scotto every night
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 10:06AM
It's cool to harass Dick Fuld - the one CEO on Wall Street that got dicked (pun intended) but where is the condemnation by the media and calls for jail time for these other inept CEO's. Basically Dick Fuld is the only bad guy here cuz the govt refused to bail them out and now he's being indicted - Citi just laid off more poeople than Lehman in bankruptcy and Vickram is still the head of this POS company - what a bunch of hypocritical bullshit this is...
Posted by er666 , Nov 26, 2008 10:07AM
@9- the actual congressional witch hunts should stop, but clowns like the fox guy above are just funny. relax. laugh.
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 10:08AM
should have went to the zoo...that's where most gorilla's are found!!!
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 10:08AM
should have went to the zoo...that's where most gorilla's are found!!!
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 10:08AM
should have went to the zoo...that's where most gorilla's are found!!!
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 10:15AM
@13- So you wanna lock people up for firing people?
ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 10:20AM
@13 Bandit just got there and is cleaning
the mess left by Chuck. Give him some time.
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 10:26AM
@8 unfortunately for the ones that can't take it, the post office is laying off 40,000...no job opps there...maybe they want 108 vacation days though, they can always go teach
Posted by Falcon , Nov 26, 2008 10:27AM
Wall St. CEOs should move to Texas. Because in Texas you can legally shoot someone for trespassing.
Posted by cy , Nov 26, 2008 10:29AM
10, 12-
I once saw Rosanna Scotto on the street on the UES. I gave her a "what's up" and she gave me a "how's it going." Totally sweet.
Related- I once saw nick gregory in a golf club locker room. I asked him what the weather was looking like, not expecting a real answer, and the dude broke off a 5 day forecast for me right there. He was talking about high-pressure systems and everything. Cool as shit.
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 10:42AM
This sort of reporting makes me angry. Dick Fuld is no different than Lloyd Blankfein, John Mack, etc. GS/MS/JPM, etc just issued debt guaranteed by the Federal government. In exchange, taxpayers get nothing - no stock. Just assurance that the financial system doesn’t collapse. Without help, Goldman would have gone down the same path as Lehman - why isn't the reporter knocking on Lloyd's door? Dick Fuld ran Lehman as an honorable man for a long time, yes he got paid a lot. But Paulson got paid over $500mm at Goldman, got to keep it tax free when he got to treasury and has made really stupid decisions that has made this situation worse. Allowing Lehman to fail in the way it did will turn out to be a the biggest economic policy blunder in history. Part of the beauty of American capitalism is that we can all become filthy rich, succumbing to populist rhetoric and preventing CEO's from making money will stifle American ingenuity and leadership in the world of finance.
Posted by MarshallStack , Nov 26, 2008 10:44AM
Hey -
I have an idea!
We all know where Fuld's house is - and we know there is no gate - so let's gather the viallgers, light some brooms on fire and have a good old fashoined castle storming!
C'mon! Who is in?!
To the ramparts! To the barricades! To the bar!!!
I bet he has some sweet booze in there. Anyone know which level has the wine cellar? We can bathe in Margaux '83!
Posted by Falcon , Nov 26, 2008 10:50AM
@24
Or the Petrus
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 11:00AM
@18 and 19 - Obviously you missed my point. The Feds let LEH fail - they could have easily let C fail as well but learned from their past mistakes. All these CEO's would be in bankruptcy right now if it werent for Hank the Tank Paulson - Dick is the one who got Dicked, now hes the scapegoat for Wall Street's meltdown, while ALL these BUMS made the same mistakes with these MBS/CDO/CMO.
Posted by cy , Nov 26, 2008 11:08AM
Dick's real crime was not getting lehman interwoven enough so that they had "too big to fail" status. Had dick hit every CDS bid he could find (like AIG), those folks from staten island in the leh communications department would still have their jobs (or at least a severance). Kind of sad to think that engaging in stupid behavior leaves you bankrupt, but engaging in really, really stupid behavior leaves you ok.
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 11:10AM
@26 - i take issue with everyone being so concerned with fuld being the scapegoat. sure, the others should be taken to task for what has happened. but what are you proposing? fuld should be let off the hook because the others are as well? is one example not better than zero?
also, everyone wants to spread equal blame to the lenders and borrowers. i agree there is fault on many levels. however, again, do you not believe to whom much is given, much is expected? these men were in a position to limit the financial crisis through proper risk management. they pay themselves exorbitantly based on their intellectual prowess. should we not hold them to a higher standard than the mail room worker with a mortgage and very little understanding of finance?
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 11:14AM
SHAME, SHAME, SHAME! I'll be singing that one all through Thanksgiving...
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 11:24AM
@28, here here. The first smart point made all day. Bottom line is Fuld is a scumbag. He lied about the condition of the firm and its balance sheet as the company was going down in flames and people lost everything. Erin Callan as well, she was completely full of sht the whole time. No one, and I mean no one should take home the knd of money that he did, its insane.
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 11:34AM
@1 / @8
Spot on. My brother works for gov. Years back, his mates ribbed him for working in gov (they all went into IBank or Cap markets). One of them now bar-tends, another delivers pizzas. Everyday brings a new head-line for me bro to laugh at.
Scared FX guy
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 11:35AM
30 Wow!!! A CEO and his CFO said their company was in great shape when it wasn't really. Imagine that. News flash: a big part of what these people do is act as cheerleaders. To outsiders and internal people too, as a motivational exercise. Its the job of smart analysts to sift through that noise and find the truth.
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 11:38AM
@32, thats fine jerkoff but they dont have direct access to the balance sheet do they? YOu are a tool, go back to clearing trades you knob.
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 11:42AM
30 - you have to understand people like 32 and the corporate execs think fulfilling their fiduciary duty of maximizing shareholder value = lying when necessary. for them, this value transcends others such as honesty, integrity and honor. sad really.
Posted by NegativeConvexity , Nov 26, 2008 11:59AM
I'm gonna get a couple of hard, pipe-hittin brothas called SPODE and WIDECLOPS to go to work on Dick Fuld with a pair of pliers and a blow torch. (and whatever other tools SPODE feels appropriate, like a breast pump, for example)
That'll teach this hillbilly to treat the Short-Bus All Star Team like special people...
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 12:58PM
Carmine was Lehman's T&E guy...
He approved many of my ill-gotten meals/cars I showered on sugar babies, back in the 90s....
Posted by Anal_yst , Nov 26, 2008 1:22PM
@23
" Allowing Lehman to fail in the way it did will turn out to be a the biggest economic policy blunder in history."
Uh, no. Encourageing every schmuck to go sign up for a mortgage they didn't understand (and/or couldn't pay for) and stimulating the entire mortgage to create new products to fuel this home ownership endeavor was.
I agree with the next sentence though, for what its worth.
Posted by guest , Nov 26, 2008 3:31PM
#37 - I don't disagree with you that there was a clear overextension of credit which was clearly unsustainable and bubble-like. However, it is clear that the regulators were asleep at the switch. Shouldn't they have noticed that the leverage ratios for our financial institutions are out hand? Shouldn't every "schmuck" upset at Dick Fuld, be equally upset at the SEC and the regulatory framework? I would have rather taken the path of gradually reducing leverage and right-sizing wall street than pricking the bubble and causing it to happen in a quick and disorderly fashion. That's all. Not defending the business practices, but just highly irritated about the response. If a child misbehaves, you can either pull out your belt and beat the lesson into him/her OR you can sit down with your child, explain to them that they shouldn't have done what they did and make sure they play within the rules going forward. If we are going to ostracize Dick Fuld, there a number of candidates who deserve just as much blame - LLoyd, Mack, Chuck Prince, etc. I think these guys did their jobs - maximize profit within legal bounds. It was our regulators and rating agencies that just completely let this problem get out of hand by casting the boundaries too wide. They should be held responsible.
Posted by guest , Nov 28, 2008 11:01PM
Doreen (lady in FOX video of former Lehman employees) was NOT a nice person. I had to deal with her for the three years I was there and it was NEVER a pleasant experience! Karma???
Posted by guest , Nov 29, 2008 10:30PM
I found Doreen to be nice and professional in every interaction. It was sad to see her go. Her bosses were total douches though. Unfortunately they are still there.