Post by jcline on Oct 22, 2006 18:59:07 GMT -4
STOCKGATE TODAY
An online newspaper reporting the issues of Securities Fraud
SEC Cover-up; Aguirre Records expose possible SEC criminal negligence – October 23, 2006
David Patch
November 2004.
It was November 2004 that the on-line petition www.investigatethesec.com was initiated due to the concerns over regulatory bias and abuse against the retail investor class.
After years of circumstantial evidence that exposed the SEC to aiding and abetting Wall Street fraud, the investing public attempted to take control of their own financial safety and requested a formal investigation into the possible criminal actions of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
While the petition, now over 8000 strong, has been mocked and ridiculed by the members of the financial press, the petition site continued to connect the dots on how far the Commission staff would venture into massive cover-up to protect the financial terrorism perpetrated by the Institutions and Hedge Funds against the investing public. Money talks and the SEC appeared to be an agency on the payroll of Wall Street.
It is about the theft of the financial security of the lower and middle class investors and diverting that capital to the pockets of the wealthy Wall Street elite and how the SEC Commission staff has been working overtime to insure this practice of abuse continues unabated. A co-opted federal agency working as the “muscle” to the organized crime operation we call Wall Street.
The same concerns now hit the main street media.
On Saturday October 22, 2006 main stream media exposed the first story on what the investing public, and my web site, has reported for over 2-years. Late to the game, the experts of the financial press have come to the party to discuss possible SEC negligence and cover-up in major securities fraud matters. It took a former SEC attorney and two separate Senate Committee Investigations to open their minds to the possibilities but open they now are.
The NY Times story; S.E.C. Inquiry on Hedge Fund Draws Scrutiny by Walt Bogdanich and Gretchen Morgenson details an eerie story of senior SEC officials who obstructed the investigation into a politically connected Wall Street executive and the hedge fund he conducted business with. The story details a single SEC investigation initiated after 18 separate NYSE referrals regarding possible trading off inside information and the termination of one SEC lawyer who investigation came dangerously close to one Wall Street Executive and his powerful hedge fund associate.
The story exposes the conflicts of interest at the SEC Staff levels and at the SEC’s independent Inspector General’s office in covering up the illegal actions being uncovered.
Bogdanich and Morgenson detail the documents former SEC Attorney Gary Aguirre presented to Congress after his termination from the agency including the written communications Aguirre had with senior SEC officials prior to his termination.
According to the story, “the file [presented to the Senate] shows that after Mr. Aguirre was blocked from questioning Mr. Mack about the Heller deal, Mr. Hanson, the S.E.C. branch chief, acknowledged in e-mail messages that he had discussed Mr. Mack’s “political clout” and the “juice” of his lawyers with officials at the commission.”
Mack referring to Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack whose name has appeared frequently when considerations are being made for political appointments by President Bush. The appointment would be payback for the fundraising efforts Mack provided for the 2004 Bush campaign.
In one e-Mail to Aguirre, Hanson wrote “Mack’s counsel will have ‘juice,’ as I described last night — meaning that they may reach out to Paul and Linda (and possibly others).” The Times identifying Paul to be Senior SEC official Paul Berger and Linda referring to SEC Director of Enforcement Linda Thomsen almost implying that a “traffic ticket could be fixed” through a few simple phone calls.
While Aguirre has admitted to the Senate that he had not concluded his investigation, to a point where charges could be filed against any of the suspected violators Aguirre claims this is such due to the Commission staff blocking the investigation before its conclusion. Aguirre accuses such ranking individuals as Chairman Cox and SEC director Linda Thomsen as being directly involved in the actions.
Under the guidelines of the Securities Act of 1934 Section 20 states, “Prosecution Of Persons Who Aid And Abet Violations.--- For purposes of any action brought by the Commission under paragraph (1) or (3) of Section 21(d), any person that knowingly provides substantial assistance to another person in violation of a provision of this title, or of any rule or regulation issued under this title, shall be deemed to be in violation of such provision to the same extent as the person to whom such assistance is provided.”
If Aguirre is correct in his assessments, the Staff of the SEC would thus be guilty of such provisions and should be terminated immediately and charged civilly and criminally for fraud.
Considering the Senate inquiry into the Aguirre allegations as only one of possibly hundreds or thousands of like SEC investigations dropped due to political pressures from senior SEC Officials the public needs swift action. We know of this story because Aguirre fought back where many before him simply moved on. How much this cost the investing public is immeasurable. How much more will continue if these people remain in charge is likewise immeasurable.
The Senate inquiry raises questions of politics and Wall Street policing and how political connections can result in criminal fraud being dismissed as easily as traffic violation or parking ticket is fixed.
Separately, Congress is presently investigating a matter in which Paul Berger left the agency after 14 years of service shortly after Aguirre was terminated and took a position at Debevoise & Plimpton. The significance being that Debevoise & Plimpton is the law firm representing Morgan Stanley and was seeking information regarding Mack and this investigation as the Morgan Stanley considered Mack for the position of CEO.
Congress wants to know whether the hiring of Berger was payback for blocking the investigation into John Mack.
From this amateur writer, but one who was more than two years ahead of the curve on this story, there is a solution and a workable one.
The Securities and Exchange Commission must be removed from the powers of our federal government and put into the hands of our state regulators. The Commission leadership must be staffed with members of our 50 state regulatory arms with the staff rotated every term through each state similar to the process presently utilized by the North American Securities Administration Association (NASAA). No single state to have control but every state being directly involved.
The Commission will maintain Congressional oversight but Congress can not dictate policy through closed door lobbying.
Over recent years, the states have been the first to take charge in exposing securities related fraud because it is the states that are more connected with the interests of the people. The SEC on the other hand, as a federal agency politically driven by administration policy has delayed initiatives to address fraud due to the desires of the administration in charge.
The present Commission staff has already blocked possible fraud investigations regarding the financial press and the hedge funds despite evidence that supported such an investigation. This same staff is now being accused of protecting one of Wall Street’s most respected despite evidence that leads to such an individual. These actions are not the actions that bring confidence to the public and thus confidence to our markets. How much fraud have they accepted for political reasons/
It is time Congress initiates that criminal investigation into this Commission staff and begins the process of resolving present and future conflicts between the commission and those they are empowered to regulate. The SEC lacks transparency but from what we can see before us, the SEC is not acting in the best interests of the public.
The Aguirre documents make that case.
For more on this issue please visit the Host site at www.investigatethesec.com .
Copyright 2006
An online newspaper reporting the issues of Securities Fraud
SEC Cover-up; Aguirre Records expose possible SEC criminal negligence – October 23, 2006
David Patch
November 2004.
It was November 2004 that the on-line petition www.investigatethesec.com was initiated due to the concerns over regulatory bias and abuse against the retail investor class.
After years of circumstantial evidence that exposed the SEC to aiding and abetting Wall Street fraud, the investing public attempted to take control of their own financial safety and requested a formal investigation into the possible criminal actions of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
While the petition, now over 8000 strong, has been mocked and ridiculed by the members of the financial press, the petition site continued to connect the dots on how far the Commission staff would venture into massive cover-up to protect the financial terrorism perpetrated by the Institutions and Hedge Funds against the investing public. Money talks and the SEC appeared to be an agency on the payroll of Wall Street.
It is about the theft of the financial security of the lower and middle class investors and diverting that capital to the pockets of the wealthy Wall Street elite and how the SEC Commission staff has been working overtime to insure this practice of abuse continues unabated. A co-opted federal agency working as the “muscle” to the organized crime operation we call Wall Street.
The same concerns now hit the main street media.
On Saturday October 22, 2006 main stream media exposed the first story on what the investing public, and my web site, has reported for over 2-years. Late to the game, the experts of the financial press have come to the party to discuss possible SEC negligence and cover-up in major securities fraud matters. It took a former SEC attorney and two separate Senate Committee Investigations to open their minds to the possibilities but open they now are.
The NY Times story; S.E.C. Inquiry on Hedge Fund Draws Scrutiny by Walt Bogdanich and Gretchen Morgenson details an eerie story of senior SEC officials who obstructed the investigation into a politically connected Wall Street executive and the hedge fund he conducted business with. The story details a single SEC investigation initiated after 18 separate NYSE referrals regarding possible trading off inside information and the termination of one SEC lawyer who investigation came dangerously close to one Wall Street Executive and his powerful hedge fund associate.
The story exposes the conflicts of interest at the SEC Staff levels and at the SEC’s independent Inspector General’s office in covering up the illegal actions being uncovered.
Bogdanich and Morgenson detail the documents former SEC Attorney Gary Aguirre presented to Congress after his termination from the agency including the written communications Aguirre had with senior SEC officials prior to his termination.
According to the story, “the file [presented to the Senate] shows that after Mr. Aguirre was blocked from questioning Mr. Mack about the Heller deal, Mr. Hanson, the S.E.C. branch chief, acknowledged in e-mail messages that he had discussed Mr. Mack’s “political clout” and the “juice” of his lawyers with officials at the commission.”
Mack referring to Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack whose name has appeared frequently when considerations are being made for political appointments by President Bush. The appointment would be payback for the fundraising efforts Mack provided for the 2004 Bush campaign.
In one e-Mail to Aguirre, Hanson wrote “Mack’s counsel will have ‘juice,’ as I described last night — meaning that they may reach out to Paul and Linda (and possibly others).” The Times identifying Paul to be Senior SEC official Paul Berger and Linda referring to SEC Director of Enforcement Linda Thomsen almost implying that a “traffic ticket could be fixed” through a few simple phone calls.
While Aguirre has admitted to the Senate that he had not concluded his investigation, to a point where charges could be filed against any of the suspected violators Aguirre claims this is such due to the Commission staff blocking the investigation before its conclusion. Aguirre accuses such ranking individuals as Chairman Cox and SEC director Linda Thomsen as being directly involved in the actions.
Under the guidelines of the Securities Act of 1934 Section 20 states, “Prosecution Of Persons Who Aid And Abet Violations.--- For purposes of any action brought by the Commission under paragraph (1) or (3) of Section 21(d), any person that knowingly provides substantial assistance to another person in violation of a provision of this title, or of any rule or regulation issued under this title, shall be deemed to be in violation of such provision to the same extent as the person to whom such assistance is provided.”
If Aguirre is correct in his assessments, the Staff of the SEC would thus be guilty of such provisions and should be terminated immediately and charged civilly and criminally for fraud.
Considering the Senate inquiry into the Aguirre allegations as only one of possibly hundreds or thousands of like SEC investigations dropped due to political pressures from senior SEC Officials the public needs swift action. We know of this story because Aguirre fought back where many before him simply moved on. How much this cost the investing public is immeasurable. How much more will continue if these people remain in charge is likewise immeasurable.
The Senate inquiry raises questions of politics and Wall Street policing and how political connections can result in criminal fraud being dismissed as easily as traffic violation or parking ticket is fixed.
Separately, Congress is presently investigating a matter in which Paul Berger left the agency after 14 years of service shortly after Aguirre was terminated and took a position at Debevoise & Plimpton. The significance being that Debevoise & Plimpton is the law firm representing Morgan Stanley and was seeking information regarding Mack and this investigation as the Morgan Stanley considered Mack for the position of CEO.
Congress wants to know whether the hiring of Berger was payback for blocking the investigation into John Mack.
From this amateur writer, but one who was more than two years ahead of the curve on this story, there is a solution and a workable one.
The Securities and Exchange Commission must be removed from the powers of our federal government and put into the hands of our state regulators. The Commission leadership must be staffed with members of our 50 state regulatory arms with the staff rotated every term through each state similar to the process presently utilized by the North American Securities Administration Association (NASAA). No single state to have control but every state being directly involved.
The Commission will maintain Congressional oversight but Congress can not dictate policy through closed door lobbying.
Over recent years, the states have been the first to take charge in exposing securities related fraud because it is the states that are more connected with the interests of the people. The SEC on the other hand, as a federal agency politically driven by administration policy has delayed initiatives to address fraud due to the desires of the administration in charge.
The present Commission staff has already blocked possible fraud investigations regarding the financial press and the hedge funds despite evidence that supported such an investigation. This same staff is now being accused of protecting one of Wall Street’s most respected despite evidence that leads to such an individual. These actions are not the actions that bring confidence to the public and thus confidence to our markets. How much fraud have they accepted for political reasons/
It is time Congress initiates that criminal investigation into this Commission staff and begins the process of resolving present and future conflicts between the commission and those they are empowered to regulate. The SEC lacks transparency but from what we can see before us, the SEC is not acting in the best interests of the public.
The Aguirre documents make that case.
For more on this issue please visit the Host site at www.investigatethesec.com .
Copyright 2006