How did Angelo Mozilo get away with it? Countrywide scandal

[jollyreaper2112]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelo_Mozilo

Perhaps more than any single individual, Mozilo has come to symbolize, and bear the blame for, the subprime mortgage crisis. In a New York Times feature on October 20, 2008, Henry G. Cisneros, former secretary of HUD and member of the Countrywide board of directors, describes Mr. Mozilo as “sick with stress — the final chapter of his life is the infamy that’s been brought on him, or that he brought on himself.” CNN named Mozilo as one of the "Ten Most Wanted: Culprits" of the 2008 financial collapse in the United States.[6]

Wow. This guy must be doing serious time, right?

On Friday October 15, 2010, Mozilo reached a settlement with Securities and Exchange Commission, over securities fraud and insider trading charges. Mozilo agreed to pay $67.5 million in fines and accepted a lifetime ban from serving as an officer or director of any public company; it is the largest settlement by an individual or executive connected to the 2008 housing collapse. Robert Khuzami, director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, said in a statement that "Mozilo's record penalty is the fitting outcome for a corporate executive who deliberately disregarded his duties to investors by concealing what he saw from inside the executive suite." By settling the SEC charges, Mozilo will avoid a trial that could have provided fodder for future criminal charges. [20][21]

This fine represents a small fraction of Mozilo's estimated net worth of $600 million. Countrywide will pay $20 million of the $67.5 million penalty because of an indemnification agreement that was part of Mozillo's employment contract. The terms of the settlement allow Mr. Mozilo to avoid acknowledging any wrongdoing.

In February 2011, the U.S. dropped its criminal investigation into the facts behind that civil settlement.

Ok, so let me get this straight.
1. Steal more money than I could possibly spend in an entire lifetime.
2. Pay a 11% vig on it to the government.
3. No jail time.
4. Profit.

Seriously, what the fuck? I could do more jail time for pirating a Beatles album.

Obama has been a major disappointment for me. He pretty much strikes me as Harvey Keitel's character from Pulp Fiction, a cleaner. So, guys, what went wrong? Dead hooker in the hotel room? Drunk driving with fatalities? Got caught skimming millions from your charity fund? Stabbed your ex and her boyfriend to death and got in a low-speed chase that was all over the news? I'll make all the problems go away but it's gonna cost you.

So yeah, the economy didn't implode. The lights stayed on, stores remained open. We didn't descend into anarchy. But what happened with the criminals who caused this mess? They got away with it.

This is probably the Obama quote that pisses me off the most. "Some bankers gave explanations for the industry’s high salaries, such as 'competing for talent on an international market.' But, President Obama cut them off. 'My administration is the only thing between you and the pitchforks.'"

Obama, your job is not to protect these fucks from the consequences of their crimes. Your job is to say "I speak for the mob with the pitchforks. Consequences are happening now. It's your choice as to whether you're facing a court of law or a lynch mob."

This is the latest quote that pisses me off almost as much. "I've said if the Republicans need more love -- (laughter) -- if they want me to walk the dog or wash their car, I'm happy to do it. (Laughter.) And I genuinely believe that most Americans -- Democrats or Republicans -- they just want us to solve problems."

Obama is not stupid. We have insider quotes from him that show he knows exactly what game is being played and what the score is. For him to go through the kayfabe of acting like there's anything bipartisan to be had with these economic terrorists is fucking insulting. You do not negotiate with people who are in the wrong, you offer them the term of unconditional surrender. Civil rights are not something that's negotiable. You don't find a middle ground on segregation. You don't find a middle ground on reproductive rights. You don't find a middle ground on prosecuting criminals to the fullest extent of the law.

It just infuriates me that you can whip the Rush Limbaugh audience into a frenzy over welfare the thought of a black man living off the sweat of a white man's brow they can't put 2 and 2 together and see someone like a Mozilo is ripping them off harder than any street hood could conceive of.

I'm just so tired of hearing excuses over why we can't fight harder, why we have to put off change until tomorrow, why we have to accept the status quo. I don't want a president who's kissing their asses, I want a president who's busting their skulls.

[MineralMan]

1. So, who are you voting for tomorrow?

That's the question for today.

[jollyreaper2112]

2. who am I voting for?

I was going to vote third party. A vote for Obama feels like I'm complicit in what happens next. I changed my mind and am voting for him. There is no enthusiasm in this vote, no expectation for things to get better, just avoiding things getting aggressively worse under Romney and slowly worse under Obama.

[MineralMan]

3. Thanks for voting for President Obama, then.

I couldn't tell from your thread-starting post.

[jollyreaper2112]

4. Meh

Nobody else has anything to say about business criminals getting off scott free?