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S.E.C. Is Said to Seek to Bar Wall St. Financier

RightinNYC

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Steven Rattner Fights Effort to Bar Him From Wall St. - NYTimes.com

As it investigates a suspected kickback scheme in New York’s pension system, the Securities and Exchange Commission has been pushing to bar Steven L. Rattner, a prominent financier and former adviser to the Obama administration on the auto industry, from working in the securities industry for up to three years, according to three people told of the discussions. But Mr. Rattner has fiercely resisted the proposed penalty, setting up a face-off with the federal government, according to these people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the negotiations are intended to be confidential. It would be the most severe penalty for any of the Wall Street executives ensnared in the wide-ranging pension investigation, and it would carry a significant stigma for Mr. Rattner, whose rise in high finance catapulted him to the top of New York’s social and political hierarchy. The S.E.C. and the New York attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, have suggested that Mr. Rattner improperly paid off a political operative to win lucrative business from the New York state pension fund — in one case, by arranging to help distribute a low-budget film for the brother of a pension fund official.

...

Even being barred temporarily would be a blow to Mr. Rattner’s career and could endanger several of his pursuits. He will soon publish a book about his experience trying to restructure the American auto industry, which was widely praised. And he is playing a vital role in creating an investment office for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York, which will oversee billions of dollars for the mayor’s ambitious new philanthropic foundation. Under the proposed S.E.C. settlement, Mr. Rattner, 57, would most likely be barred from advising Mr. Bloomberg on his finances, people briefed on the matter said. A spokesman for the mayor declined to comment. Mr. Rattner’s troubles could also prove embarrassing for some well-known Democratic politicians. He and his wife, Maureen White, have become influential donors, turning their sprawling Fifth Avenue apartment into something of a salon frequented by leading figures, including Hillary Rodham Clinton and Harold E. Ford Jr., the former Tennessee representative.

I hope this guy finally gets what's coming to him. I can't believe that Cuomo offered him immunity to testify against Quadrangle when he was the one who actually committed the fraud.
 
If he is guilty and only gets 3 years barred from working in the industry, that would be a travesty. It's a crime, and jail is appropriate.

Yea, that didn't make much sense to me at all. You give immunity to people who have committed bad acts in cases where you think that testimony will help convict someone who committed a more serious crime or someone who is higher up in the company. Rattner founded the company and was the one who committed the crime, so why did he get immunity?

Quadrangle stated, "We wholly disavow the conduct engaged in by Steve Rattner, who hired the New York State Comptroller’s political consultant, Hank Morris, to arrange an investment from the New York State Common Retirement Fund. That conduct was inappropriate, wrong, and unethical." as it agreed to a $7 million fine.

Absurd.
 
Yea, that didn't make much sense to me at all. You give immunity to people who have committed bad acts in cases where you think that testimony will help convict someone who committed a more serious crime or someone who is higher up in the company. Rattner founded the company and was the one who committed the crime, so why did he get immunity?



Absurd.

This is why I think misconduct and abuse is so rampant. Get caught and the penalties are not significant. Hell, they could disbar him for life and he would still have enough money to live very comfortably for the rest of his life, and then some.
 
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