Jon Corzine: "What Balls"

Better to keep one's mouth shut and be thought a fool, than to open it and remove all doubt.

When you are in a hole, stop digging. 

I am not sure which of the above quotes might be more applicable to one of Wall Street's greatest pariahs but this individual may want to look for better counsel. To whom do I refer? None other than former master of the universe Jon Corzine, now more widely acclaimed for destroying a firm in one fell swoop than any of his prior exploits at Goldman Sachs, Capitol Hill, or the New Jersey statehouse.

I could only shake my head in utter disgust this morning upon reading the following, 

MF Global Holdings Ltd. needed cash, was being hounded by regulators and had been threatened with possible ratings downgrades.

None of those problems alone killed the brokerage firm in October 2011, according to a bankruptcy trustee's lawsuit filed late Monday. The trustee said it was the leadership of Jon S. Corzine and two of the former chief executive's top lieutenants that proved fatal.

In the 61-page lawsuit, former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Louis Freeh accused Mr. Corzine and his former chief operating officer and finance chief of “acts and omissions” over several months that were “grossly negligent” and a “breach of fiduciary duty” that led to the company's collapse.

Is there really any doubt?

One would think Corzine might consider himself exceptionally fortunate not to be housed with a bunch of guys named Bubba and sorting silverware in a federal pen. But in an indication that neither he nor his counsel have a real appreciation for the public derision held toward him — and to a lesser extent toward his former “partners in crime” at MF Global –, we read,

A spokesman for Mr. Corzine said . . .  ”There is no basis for the claim that Mr. Corzine breached his fiduciary duties or was negligent.”

Is this guy shameless or what? Actually aside from being shameless, he and his counsel display little that would be confused with intelligence in releasing a statement of that sort.

I can only sum up Corzine and counsel's verbal diarrhea in one brief comment . . .

WHAT BALLS!!

Larry Doyle

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I have no business interest with any entity referenced in this commentary. The opinions expressed are my own. I am a proponent of real transparency within our markets so that investor confidence and investor protection can be achieved.