'PONZI SCHEME' AT CITI; SUIT SLAMS RUBIN (insiders reaped millions on toxic investments)

NY POST ^ | 12/4/08 | PAUL THARP

[Liz]

Citigroup scandal engulfs Robert Rubin and his former disciple Chuck Prince in an alleged Ponzi-style scheme now-choking world banking....an alleged complex cover-up of toxic securities spread across the globe, wiping out trillions of dollars in their destructive paths. ...accused of overseeing repackaging unmarketable collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) no one wanted, then reselling them to Citi and hiding the poisonous exposure off the books in shell entities ......when the bottom fell out of the shaky assets, Citi's stock collapsed, wiping out more than $122B shareholder value. Rubin and other top insiders kept Citi shares afloat until they could cash out more than $150M for themselves in "suspicious" stock sales from undisclosed inside information," the lawsuit said......a 500-page investigation by Citigroup investors adds new details to an investor lawsuit filed a year ago.

[Liz]

Investors accuse Citi of overseeing the repackaging of unmarketable collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) no one wanted, then reselling them to Citi and hiding the poisonous exposure off the books in shell entities...

Shades of Enron.

Same scam used as Enron's CFO---Andy Fastow.

Fastow and his wife both went to jail---she got nailed for signing off on the pair's falsified tax returns.

Golly, wonder if Mrs Rubin, and wives of Citi insiders, signed tax returns? (snicker)

[Don Corleone]

As always...”Follow the Money”

[Boiling Pots]

No one can actually figure out what Robert Rubin did at Citi to “earn” $115 million since 2000.

This whole bailout is the biggest scam ever perpetrated on a taxpaying public.

Trillions to bail out people who personally earned hundreds of millions.

Damn Bush and Paulson straight to Hell.

[earlJam]

Golly, wonder if Mrs Rubin, and wives of Citi insiders, signed tax returns? (snicker)

Aren't you cruel. lol

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I HOPE we can CHANGE Rubin's mailing address to a state prison....

[mortal19440]

Is it time for the much loved, Dem supported FROG March for Rubin?

[boxer21]

That’s one I would like to see go to trial. The new administration headed by AG Holder will not pursue an investigation. More than likely, Citi will use our tax dollars to settle the suit out of court.

[KoRn]

And they got bailout money??

Someone should be going to prison!

[WayneS]

It sounds like maybe they just DID figure out what he did to “earn” $115 Million since 2000.

I agree whole-heartedly with the sentiment in the final sentence of your post. I’d add Congress, in its entirety, to the list, though.

[Major Matt Mason]

I remember Rush mentioning during the Clinton years some risky manuever related to bonds (I think) that Rubin was doing to make the economy seem better than it was (or something like that). I remember him saying that, as long as the economy was good, no one would be the worse for not knowing. But, if the economy ever worsened, it could get real bad because of this risky manuever. I wonder if any of this is related to what Rush was talking about lo those many years ago?

[jersey117]

Isn’t Rubin one of Obama’s advisors?

[RobRoy]

I am completely apposed to class warfare. I have a VERY rich relative, but he got it through hard work and seizing opportunities. I wish him the best, but if these guys are exposed as having done what many here suggest, they need to rot in prison the rest of their natural lives.

[WayneS]

Why aim so low?...

Why not Federal Prison... one of the “nice” ones... like maybe Leavenworth...

[Blood of Tyrants]

Rubin won’t go to jail. Obama will hire him for something and then pardon him.

[Boiling Pots]

Right, it was access to Government money.

I cannot believe there isn’t more outrage over this bailout.

[centurion316]

This scam is going to make the Enron caper look like a minor irregularity at the church bingo game. Of course, that will depend on the diligence of the new Attorney General, Eric Holder, in executing the duties of his office. Hum, never mind, we’ll never hear anymore about it, will we?

[genefromjersey]

Q. Robert Rubin ? Who ??

A. Former Clinton-era Tresury Secretary Robert Rubin.

Q. Can’t say we ever heard of him...?

[Realism]

Greenspan, 82, acknowledged under questioning that he had made a “mistake” in believing that banks, operating in their own self-interest, would do what was necessary to protect their shareholders and institutions. Greenspan called that “a flaw in the model ... that defines how the world works.”

Flaw in the model? Greed is a fact of life.

[Islander7]

Education and background

Born in New York, Rubin moved to Miami Beach, Florida at an early age and graduated from Miami Beach High School. In 1960, Rubin graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in economics from Harvard College[3]. He then attended Harvard Law School for three days before leaving to see the world.[5] He later attended the London School of Economics after graduation and received an LL.B. from Yale Law School in 1964[3].

Rubin began his career as an attorney at the firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in New York City. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1966 as an associate in the risk arbitrage department [5]. Rubin proved his skills at the intricate art of investing his firm's capital in high-reward arbitrage opportunities and became a general partner in 1971. He joined the management committee in 1980 along with fellow Democrat Jon Corzine, later a U.S. senator and governor of New Jersey. Rubin was Vice Chairman and Co-Chief Operating Officer from 1987 to 1990. From the end of 1990 to 1992, Rubin served as Co-Chairman and Co-Senior Partner along with Stephen Friedman.

[edit] Clinton administration

From January 20, 1993, to January 10, 1995, Robert Rubin served in the White House as Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. In that capacity, he directed the National Economic Council, which Bill Clinton created after winning the presidency.

The National Economic Council, or NEC, enabled the White House to coordinate closely the workings of the Cabinet departments and agencies on policies ranging from budget and tax to international trade and alleviating poverty. The NEC coordinated policy recommendations going into the President’s office, and monitored implementation of the decisions that came out[3].

Rubin, as the NEC’s first director, was credited with making the system work. As Robert Strauss, former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union, said at the time, "He's surely the only man or woman in America that I know who could make the NEC succeed. Anyone else would have been a disruptive force, and the council wouldn't have worked."[6]

-------- Snip

Harvard's endowment plunges $8 billion

Harvard University's endowment lost more than $8 billion in four months, a 22 percent plunge that is the steepest decline at the school in modern history.

The loss brings the endowment from $36.9 billion on June 30 to roughly $28.7 billion by the end of October. As first reported by Harvard Magazine and the Harvard Crimson, President Drew Faust and Executive Vice President Edward C. Forst outlined the impact of the loss in a letter late Tuesday to the university's deans.

----------- Snip

The after effects of the Clinton Administration.

[Emmett McCarthy]

And we get the TV “talking heads” telling us how much this bail-out is needed for these banks and the auto companies. But, I kinda figure that if I “follow the money” the ad revenues from these banks and such pays their high-end salaries. But, no, a “sacred and holy journalist” wouldn’t betray their honor or public trust. What a silly idea!