This Is An Outrage

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And no, I’m not talking about the acquittal of Sean Bell’s killers. We all know the only thing cops can’t get away with in this city is sodomizing suspectsafter they’ve been arrested. That’s a no-no (prior to the arrest: go nuts). I’m talking about Angelo Mozilo, and the gross injustice that was his compensation for 2007. The Lord of Orange’s pay fell forty nine percent to $22.1 million, from $43 million in 2006. Before you start crowing about how he’s lucky Countrywide paid him at all, just realize that this is going to come back to bite CFC and its shareholders in the ass. It’s a well-known fact that several times a year, Mozilo likes to round up a few thousand Countrywide staffers, heads out to a cattle ranch in Montana, and throws upwards of $500,000 in small bills out the window CFC’s G4, then watches in delight as the lucky employees pick up and return every last dollar. Moz has always bore the cost of the event. Now, it’s going to come out of Countrywide’s pocket.
A Losing Year at Countrywide, but Not for Chief [NYT]

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Angelo Mozilo: Countrywide Was The Cadillac Of Mortgage Lenders

In June 2008, Countrywide founder and CEO Angelo Mozilo stood before a group of CFC shareholders and, through salty tears, told them that Bank of America would "reap the benefits of what we have sowed." He wasn't kidding, and in the 4+ years since Ken Lewis paid $4 billion for the place, BofA has had the pleasure of ponying up an additional $40 billion (and counting) in write-downs and legal fees associated with cleaning up Countrywide's messes, while CEO Brian Moynihan has publicly described the acquisition as an albatross around his neck. Additionally, Ang Moz forked over $67.5 million in 2010 to "resolve SEC claims that he misled investors," and separately, there has been talk by some that Countrywide contributed in no small way to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. In light of all that, does Ang Moz, have any regrets about the way his company was run? Not a fucking one and if he had to do it all over? He wouldn't change a thing.