I've long maintained that Charlie Gasparino's "I'm just a country reporter" image is a façade. In reality, he is a dangerous, dangerous man who, if you know anything, nearly brought Wall Street and the country to its knees. Look behind any monumental fuck-up of the past several years-- nay decades-- that contributed to the financial crisis and you'll find Gasparino (convincing Bear Stearns to load up on subprime doesn't even scratch the surface, nor does his encouraging Angelo Mozilo to "just go one shade darker"). So it's nice to see at least one unnamed (take your best guess) Wall Street exec is agreeing with me, finally.

Charlie Gasparino's résumé is jam-packed: on-air editor for CNBC and contributor to the Daily Beast, the New York Post and Forbes. But at least one Wall Street executive has a different description: "A monumental asshole, who added dramatically to the financial instability during '08 and early '09."

Business Books [Time]