Being the one that has been there and seen that, it is simply mind-boggling to finally see others are finally "getting it". With the one's apparently honing in being my hero and venerate of Rolling Stone - Mr. Matt Taibbi. Who is then followed up and expanded upon by PoliticsUSA's incognito writer RMuse.
For many years now, we've been telling everyone that Goldman Sachs and Bain Capital are entitled to their very own RICO indictment. This includes everyone from many "Times's", various "Post's", a few "Tribune's", a plethora of online entities, TV & Radio Shows and yes - "The" Rolling Stone lord -Mr. Matt Taibbi. As well as the FBI, Public Corruption Task Force, Senators, SEC, Congressman and my repeated efforts to also contact Chris Hedges, Rachel Maddow, Ed Shultz's show and PoliticsUSA.
But no one seemed to care about Goldman Sachs and Bain Capital breaking the law blatantly & flagrantly. Everyone ridiculed this victim. Including venerates upon the Daily Kos realm. That is, until now. For once Mitt Romney was obviously going to be confirmed as the GOP nominee - all the ears now perk up when you say "Romney and Bain Capital did ------- ".
Don't get me wrong, after years of rejection, upon rejection, I am ecstatic that the story is finally starting to begin to be told by someone noteworthy. You know that us peons/ victims are nothing but a royal pain in most reader's asses. Be that as it may - we are here - and the story "is" being told (finally). I'm so nervously anxious - I'm unable to sleep at night.
Rolling Stone's story by Matt Taibbi of "Greed & Debt --" threw some sharp jabs and managed to land some solid punches. Though the Rolling Stone "Greed & Debt--" story is not on the shelves until September 13 t; Taibbi is already being quoted on the writing everywhere. Taibbi's take on Mitt Romney's Stage Stores and Bain Capital's Kay Bee Toys is most excellently accentuated by PoliticsUSA RMuse's "Vampire Squad --" article . (Yes it slightly appears RMuse has Taibbi envy. Don't we all)?
Below the fold I will attempt to shine a different perspective upon the Kay Bee and Stage Stores cases. Believe it or not - there's so much more and, being that I am a victim of these debacles - it surely is possible that I can give you some insight from being involved in the saga.
Matt Taibbi's Great Points
To be "On the Cover" of Rolling Stone is awesome. Even if you are John Gotti or Mitt Romney. You have achieved your 15 minutes of fame and then some. When Matt Taibbi states it is the "-- true story of Mitt Romney and Bain Capital" - he is being factual. First of all, Taibbi nails it succinctly when he states that;
-- what most voters don't know is the way Mitt Romney actually made his fortune: by borrowing vast sums of money that other people were forced to pay back. This is the plain, stark reality that has somehow eluded America's top political journalists for two consecutive presidential campaigns: Mitt Romney is one of the greatest and most irresponsible debt creators of all time. In the past few decades, in fact, Romney has piled more debt onto more unsuspecting companies, written more gigantic checks that other people have to cover, than perhaps all but a handful of people on planet Earth.
We would all love to buy our cars or homes and - in the end of the deal - be paid a managers fee to have them. As sweet as that is, Mitt Romney and Bain Capital take that one step further. They stick others with the bill. If all else fails - put the entity into bankruptcy.
Taibbi on Kay Bee Toys Deal
Detailing the particulars of one deal, as Taibbi denoted that Romney's Bain Capital method is like Goodfellas "bust outs"; the "Greed & Debt" story delved into the Bain Capital saga of Kay Bee Toys and how they "busted out" that particular company. As Matt Taibbi denotes;
At the time of the KB Toys deal, Romney was a Bain investor and owner, making him a mere beneficiary of the raping and pillaging, rather than its direct organizer. Moreover, KB's demise was hastened by a host of genuine market forces, including competition from video games and cellphones. But there's absolutely no way to look at what Bain did at KB and see anything but a cash grab – one that followed the business model laid out by Romney. Rather than cutting costs and tightening belts, Bain added $300 million in debt to the firm's bottom line while taking out more than $120 million in cash – an outright looting that creditors later described in a lawsuit as "breaking open the piggy bank." What's more, Bain smoothed the deal in typical fashion by giving huge bonuses to the company's top managers as the firm headed toward bankruptcy. CEO Michael Glazer got an incredible $18.4 million, while CFO Robert Feldman received $4.8 million and senior VP Thomas Alfonsi took home $3.3 million.
What Taibbi missed and others may report upon is that fact. Such as the case of eToys and Kay Bee Toys. Both were owned by Bain Capital. Then put into bankruptcy. Only to be bought by a Bain Capital holding for pennies on the dollar and do it again. Bain Capital now owns Toys R Us; which in turn acquired Kay Bee and eToys for practically nothing.
Matt Taibbi on Stage Stores Saga
Some of you may have heard the issue that Mitt Romney received his initial Bain Capital seed money from South American specious parties. Bad habits die hard and Mitt Romney kept on going. Matt Taibbi points out that Stage STores was funded by Michael Miliken - the junk bond magnate that went to jail. As Matt's story details the in and bust out into bankruptcy of Stage Stores thusly;
Romney was right in the middle of this radical change. In fact, according to The Boston Globe – whose in-depth reporting on Romney and Bain has spanned three decades – one of Romney's first LBO deals, and one of his most profitable, involved Mike Milken himself. Bain put down $10 million in cash, got $300 million in financing from Milken and bought a pair of department-store chains, Bealls Brothers and Palais Royal. In what should by now be a familiar outcome, the two chains – which Bain merged into a single outfit called Stage Stores – filed for bankruptcy protection in 2000 under the weight of more than $444 million in debt. As always, Bain took no responsibility for the company's demise. (If you search the public record, you will not find a single instance of Mitt Romney taking responsibility for a company's failure.) Instead, Bain blamed Stage's collapse on "operating problems" that took place three years after Bain cashed out, finishing with a $175 million return on its initial investment of $10 million.
Unfortunately - once again (failing to talk to yours truly) - Mr. Taibbi missed important key points of the Stage Stores deal as he did in Kay Bee Toys. But fret not dear reader, in comes PoliticsUSA's RMuse to the rescue. As Matt points out in his Rolling Stone "cover" (still gives me chills to know the story is on "The Cover" of Rolling Stone). Anyway, as I was saying - as Matt points out - Mitt Romney/ Bain Capital "buy off" the management. Like Michael Glazer paying himself and Bain Capital tens of millions each - before they file bankruptcy and get back Kay Bee - AGAIN.
The real question = Is it Legal?
PolicticsUSA RMuse Deeper Research on Romney & Bain Capital
While I do forgive Matt Taibbi for setting up a phone call with me right before he did the article and then failing to call. Especially since I was so disappointed and believing he would totally "drop" the story. What was missed by the executive decision to diss me, for whatever the reasoning; is the hard hooks and uppercuts he could have thrown. Not to worry though, for www.PoliticsUSA.com RMuse comes to the rescue with his deeper research (RMuse had questioned me several times). Thus he is able to toss more hard facts into the ring. Placing Mitt Romney and Bain Capital onto the matt, for the count, a couple of times.
Matt Taibbi's Rolling Stone article is verbose beyond the norm. One would guess that front cover stories are required to be a minimum of pages and/ or words. RMuse has chosen a different path - as you will see. Plus his beginning is pure genius in cross analogy format - stating;
It is not unusual for powerful men to assemble a team of dedicated assistants they can trust to look out for their interests, and often, they work on the periphery doing important work away from the public’s gaze. It is standard practice for high-profile and successful football coaches to take their trusted assistants from team to team, and politicians are notorious for keeping their staff intact as they move from one elected office to the next. Indeed, even organized crime figures surround themselves with confidential acolytes who live to advance the crime boss’s agenda, and it is equally true in the corporate world of high finance. Central to any corporation or financial organization are lawyers and savvy managers who understand the law and what it takes to manipulate the courts to their business’s advantage, even if it means using barely legal tactics to reap the greatest profit regardless who gets fleeced.
As simple as 1, 2 and 3; PoliticsUSA's Rmuse takes you from the realm of explanation into the first right hand hook. Matt Taibbi states that Bain Capital "buys off" the management and PoliticsUSA Rmuse posts the premise that those "bought off" managers become willing underlord's for the Big Boss of the "family".
After paying tribute to Matt Taibbi's article and the issues of "bust out" and "creative destruction". Rmuse then denotes the fact of the issue that Mitt Romney and his cohorts got paid 1st - before the bankruptcy proceedings - like the Kay Bee Toys deal. As Rmuse details in this;
Taibbi briefly touched on the KB Toys deal when Romney was a Bain investor and owner, and it is certain that what Bain Capital did to KB Toys was typical of Romney’s business model. In order to take out more than $120 million in cash, Bain added $300 million in debt to the firm’s bottom line that creditors claimed in a lawsuit was “breaking open the piggy bank” by giving outrageous bonuses to top managers that helped send the company into bankruptcy. One of the beneficiaries of the bonuses was KB Toys CEO Michael Glazer who earned $18.4 million and was part of the Romney bankruptcy team.
Then the PoliticsUSA article gets into the meet of the matter. As Rmuse points out that Michael Glazer (the CEO of Kay Bee Toys) was also at Stage Stores. Along with some other characters that yours truly has been trying to nail for quite some time now. Specifically Barry Gold and Paul Traub. As Rmuse continues in his article with these remarks;
The team Romney gathered for the Stage Stores bankruptcy in 2000 (00-35078), were director, Jack Bush who was also CEO of Bain Capital’s Idea Forest and integral to Jumbo Sports (another Bain company) bankruptcy. Bush has an extensive record of bankruptcy dealings, and integral to Romney’s bankruptcy team. Serving with Bush as co-director was Michael Glazer (KB Toys CEO) while Stage Stores was in bankruptcy. Stage Stores hired Barry Gold as an assistant director to Jack Bush and Michael Gazer who in turn hired Paul Traub as attorney for Stage Stores.
Just like in a crime family, Rmuse points out that the Mitt Romney/ Bain Capital cronies build a ladder of protection. Michael Glazer, Barry Gold, Paul Traub and Jack Bush appear to move around as a "gang" of repeat offenders. Michael Glazer and Mr. Bush (
of Dallas TX - but we don't know if he is "that" particular Bush family) - were Directors and stockholders at Stage Stores.
Barry Gold was hired as the "directors assistant" and he in turned signed the letter for hiring Paul Traub. Because it was a bankruptcy case, they are required by law to be "arm's length" from each other. If not, they are to "disclose" the relationship. Rmuse points out that Paul Traub did not point out that he had prior relationships with Barry Gold and Jack Bush. Forcing Paul Traub to file a Supplemental Affidavit to explain the "failure" to disclose.
Bain Capital Gang Commits Crimes Without Punishment
While Rmuse is entitled to some recognition from Mr. Taibbi - for pointing out the issue that Michael Glazer was at both Stage Stores and Kay Bee Toys. It would seem that PoliticsUSA is more willing to call the kettle black - than Rolling Stone is. Rmuse denotes the fact and gives case law to back it up, that Paul Traub did a "John Gellene". (That is Paul Traub lied under oath). As is noted by Rmuse thusly;
When Jack Bush and Barry Gold hired Paul Traub, they failed to disclose a prior relationship that should have immediately disqualified Traub, and is in fact perjury. In 1999, a Wall Street lawyer, John Gellene, was caught lying in two disclosures and when it was exposed that he did in fact have a conflict of interest, he was indicted and prosecuted in U.S. v. Gellene (7th Cir. 1999). Gellene was convicted under USCS 152(3) that says, “A person who knowingly and fraudulently makes a false declaration, certificate, verification, or statement under penalty of perjury as permitted under section 1s746 of title 28, in or relation to any case under title 11 (bankruptcy), shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.” In Gellene’s disclosures, he said, “After due inquiry, I am unaware of any other current representation by my client of an equity security holder of institutional creditor.” Mr. Gellene went to prison.
emphasis added
Just like police who beat up on American citizens - simply because they can. Where they are hard to get prosecuted for that abuse of power; due to the "Blue Wall" of silence. In the same way, our federal courts and justice department people are attorneys at law - who simply refuse to put the cuffs on Goldman Sachs, Mitt Romney, Bain Capital and / or their cohorts/ lawyers.
And that Ain't Right!
CONCLUSION
What is denoted by both Matt Taibbi and Rmuse, are the simple facts in the public docket records. We already know that Rolling STone has allowed Matt Taibbi to lambast the Department of Justice and Eric Holder for saying that Goldman Sachs will not be prosecuted. Even when everyone witnessed Mr. Blankfein openly "Lie" to the Senator Carl Levin.
Thus, how much more unwilling do you think the Department of Justice and SEC revolving door of attorneys are less likely to call the crooks a crook - when the head crook may potentially become the President of the United States?
There's so much more to this story that has yet to be told. Yes, there are crimes - MANY of Them. But, unless we all get behind the stories that Matt Taibbi and Rmuse are publishing and cry foul - LOUDLY. They are going to continue to get away with it all.
THANK YOU - Very Much - Matt Taibbi and Rmuse
We anxiously await your next stories on these important issues.
It is this simple;
Can Al Capone "retroactively" retire from his bad faith acts?
Should we permit Frank Nitti to testify that Al Capone wasn't there Then?