Police: Futures trader's losses include his life

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sat-traders-mood-oct18,0,1492632.story

By Joshua Boak | Chicago Tribune reporter
October 18, 2008

Inside the Chicago Board of Trade building Friday, the manic energy of the trading pits masked a mourning as word spread that a stock index futures trader died of what police believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound just hours after suffering massive losses in the markets.

Police found Joseph Luizzi, 44 of Oak Brook, dead Thursday morning near a Metra station in Berwyn, police chief William Kushner said. Losses he could not possibly cover left Luizzi despondent, said Kushner, citing a note written by the deceased.

Inside the pockets of Luizzi's jacket were trading tickets. Asked how much Luizzi had lost to the markets, Kushner responded: "He lost his life."

Many traders were hesitant Friday to talk about Luizzi. Those who did kept their eyes on screens showing the wild path of the Standard & Poor's 500.

[shadowknows69]

1. Very tragic, but so avoidable.

When you make money your God and then gamble him away what are you really left with?

[wtmusic]

2. Well put.

The really unfortunate part is that this clown evidently put his family several rungs on the ladder below his portfolio, and now his kids don't have a Dad. Maybe they didn't anyway.

[NNN0LHI]

3. This fellow must have thought we had hit bottom and went all in

Only to find out later that we hadn't hit bottom yet.

Don

[notadmblnd]

4. it' s sad that people would rather die than live without their $$$$'s

[Leftist Agitator]

5. I'm going to play the world's smallest violin for this formerly-rich asshole...

:nopity:

Good riddance!

One down, a few million to go!

[phusion]

9. Really? What a nice guy you are... n/t

[Leftist Agitator]

12. Nice girl, but nice assumption you've got there, I must say.

:eyes:

[Cerridwen]

10. Buddy, can you spare some compassion?

If not for him perhaps for his kids?

Could you take a moment and look a little further up the food chain to the 2%ers? At some point, we have to start accepting that our 98% includes some of these assholes. If we don't, the 2%ers will continue to destroy the rest of us.

[Leftist Agitator]

11. If we had eradicated that 2% a few generations ago...

Then the world would be an immeasurably better place.

No pity. This person was a fucking parasite.

GOOD RIDDANCE!!!

[Cerridwen]

13. But we didn't. We chose instead to attack each other.

Just like now.

Just like you are doing.

Now you understand why they weren't "eradicated...a few generations ago."

[varelse]

6. Very sad

He's remembered as "an unselfish broker who played the piano" and, as frequently happens with suicides, the people closest to him will live the rest of their lives wishing they'd known what he was going through and convinced that "if only" they'd said or done "something" he'd still be with us. My heart goes out to his family.

[Leftist Agitator]

7. "...an unselfish broker..."

No. Such. Thing.

[varelse]

8. That's a quote from one of his collegues

I have no doubt that his friends and family have a different (and more loving) view of him that includes his whole life, not just his job.