Criminalizing Failure - Bear Bigs Get Sherman McCoy Treatment

A weak case indeed for the State and so they are giving both defendants the full Sherman McCoy treatment, including a full perp-walk with handcuffs. As is common with white-collar cases, the State plans on winning in the media and using the full resources of the taxpayer to crush the defendants into submission; no trial is planned.

The well-worn playbook for beating up white collar defendants is as follows: (1) toss everything but the kitchen sink into the indictment, not that the State plans on proving it; it’s just a bargaining tactic for the inevitable settlement, (2) details that were so flimsy (and these must be flimsy indeed if they were not included in the indictment) or unrelated to the case will be leaked to the media. It will be no surprise to see out of context email excerpts in the next few weeks related to affairs, high salaries, favoritism, etc., (3) If the defendants are rich or foolhardy enough not to settle, the State will certainly punish them for exercising their right to a trial. At this point both defendants’ careers on Wall Street are over, even if they are found not guilty. If they win they will be broke and unemployable – one way or another, the State always wins.