The Justice Department has questioned former Bear Stearns asset management chief Rich Marin in its inquiry into the failed hedge funds at Bear Stearns, CNBC's Charlie Gasparino reported this afternoon. The Justice Department is seriously considering criminal indictments, possibly including an indictment of Bear Stearns itself. The Justice Department has been loathe to indict entire companies in recent years after its indictment of Arthur Anderson led to the collapse of the accounting firm.
Marin ran the division that managed the two hedge funds, and formally took control of the funds when they began to fail last summer. At the time, he described his actions in heroic terms.
“This pretty much sums up my last two weeks trying to defend Sparta against the Persians hordes of Wall Street,” Marin wrote on his personal blog. “Nothing like a good dog fight 24X7 for a few weeks to remind you why you chose the life you chose. The good news is that after two embattled weeks both I and my loyal staff are still standing to fight another day. If you want details....pick up any WSJ for the past week and we were in the top three stories every day. It's nice to know you can have an impact on the world....next time I'll try to make it a slightly more positive impact.”
The day after his blog was discovered by the media, Marin was replaced at Bear Stearns and the blog taken down. But he still has a profile on blogger. His profile describes Marin as a 54 year old Aquarius who likes the poker movie Rounders, is a fan of singer Meatloaf and lists Things Fall Apart and The Great Gatsby as his favorite books.
Posted by youwannapieceofme?, Feb 07, 2008 2:12PM
If they can't get Marin on anything else they should at least indict him for being a tool. Less time spent on graphics and swarthy pats on the back, more time for saving the world, jackass.