From Bloomberg:
Countrywide’s Mozilo Off Hook as U.S. Said to Abandon Suit
U.S. prosecutors have abandoned their case against Angelo Mozilo, a leader in selling the risky subprime mortgages that fueled the financial crisis, after a two-year quest to bring a civil suit against him.
The Justice Department sent a letter informing Mozilo, the co-founder of Countrywide Financial Corp., that it isn’t moving ahead with any action against him, according to people familiar with the matter. That effectively ends nearly a decade of U.S. scrutiny of a man who became a face of risky lending practices and later an emblem of the government’s mixed success in holding individuals accountable.
In recent years, the 77-year-old has been living in a 12,692-square-foot house in Santa Barbara, California, investing in real estate and writing a book about his life so his grandchildren will “know the truth.” Interviewed in late 2014, shortly after news of prosecutors’ civil pursuit became public, he denied any wrongdoing and said the national real-estate collapse, not Countrywide’s lending, was at the root of the crisis.
“Countrywide or Mozilo didn’t cause any of that,” he said at the time.Justice Department officials in Washington and Los Angeles made the decision not to move forward with civil cases against Mozilo and other Countrywide executives, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Justice Department, through a spokesman, declined to comment.
“We are pleased and gratified with the Department of Justice decision” to close the investigation without any further litigation, said David Siegel, an attorney for Mozilo.
…
Countrywide, which was bought by Bank of America Corp. in 2008, originated more than $408 billion of worth of loans in 2007, at the height of the housing market. Many of them went to poorly vetted and risky borrowers, the Justice Department has said.After the 2008 crash in housing — and the accompanying meltdown of complex financial instruments containing nonperforming mortgage loans — the Justice Department opened widespread investigations into industry practices. Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles dug deeply into Countrywide’s actions, including Mozilo’s stock sales in the months leading up to the bursting of the mortgage bubble. They brought no criminal case against him.
Lawmakers and public-interest groups complained that executives walked away from the housing bust enriched and mostly unscathed. Mozilo — who earned at least $500 million over a decade leading up to the crisis, according to compensation-research firm Equilar Inc. — paid a $67.5 million penalty to the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2010, without admitting or denying wrongdoing. Bank of America covered a portion of his penalties.
Good Morning New Jersey
Does anybody have or ever have installed ductless AC units? Looking for any opions on using and installation
Usually easy to install, quiet, and even a typical mid-range unit is more efficient than the best central AC units.
Ideally, mounted on an exterior wall, with direct condensate drain plumbing. Where they start to get very complex and issue-prone is mounting on interior walls, where the refrigerant lines, condensate drains, and electrical all pose a different set of issues. Likewise, when you want one where the outside mounting poses an issue, like in the front of your house – the alternative is mounting on the side/rear of the house with complex plumbing – recipe for problems.
If you are looking at a multi-split unit – anything more complex than two side-by-side bedrooms aught to warrant a look at a traditional ducted system, unless you live in an old house, and don’t have that option.
I’ve seen a few older Victorians use this approach very well. Double unit, one in the living room on the first floor, and the second immediately above it in the master. Also another that ran to the master bedroom and hallway on the second floor.
Joyce says:
June 18, 2016 at 9:59 am
grim do us all a favor and ban the mass posting / penny stock pumping idiot
Of course all the dipsh!ts here who spend half their days mumbling about pumpkin continue to engage him. And telling everyone you just scroll past his posts, which people seem to do quite regularly, is just more proof that he affects your day (and a sure tell that you don’t). Amazing how your egos won’t allow you to let go of needing to constantly prove yourselves superior to someone you claim has feeble arguments and borderline intelligence.
Since this blog is NJRE, wouldn’t it be more appropriate to rename your handle OTTEAUMAN?
Ottoman says:
June 20, 2016 at 7:46 am
Joyce says:
June 18, 2016 at 9:59 am
grim do us all a favor and ban the mass posting / penny stock pumping idiot
Of course all the dipsh!ts here who spend half their days mumbling about pumpkin continue to engage him. And telling everyone you just scroll past his posts, which people seem to do quite regularly, is just more proof that he affects your day (and a sure tell that you don’t). Amazing how your egos won’t allow you to let go of needing to constantly prove yourselves superior to someone you claim has feeble arguments and borderline intelligence.
METS SUCK >:-(
So, they’re going to release the transcripts of the shooters 911 call…but redact any reference to ISIS or Muslims. I’ll just let you ponder that…
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/06/obama-doj-edit-omar-mateens-phone-call-transcripts-will-delete-references-isis/
Cutting Edge Technology For Civic Use (jj Edition):
The city spent years sweeping p0rn and peep shows from Times Square — and in just a matter of months, the de Blasio administration brought back the sleaze, The Post has learned.
The X-X-rated action returned to the Crossroads of the World via tablet-equipped street kiosks that h0rny hobos and even some curious school kids have used to get their kicks.
But the plan badly backfired when scores of homeless men — and some schoolchildren — soon realized they could surf p0rn sites all day on the city’s dime using the communal Android-run tablets and gratis Wi-Fi.
“I used to come here in the ’70s, and I remember thinking Times Square was as skeezy as you could get, but I was wrong,” said former New Yorker Richard Herzberg, 61, who now lives in Dallas, Texas.
“This is as skeezy as Times Square could get. I mean, in the old days there was plenty of p0rn, but you could only see it behind closed doors. So at least there was that level of modesty.”
The kiosks, particularly those along Eighth Avenue in the West 30s, became havens for denizens of the Port Authority Bus Terminal and its surrounding streets, as well as patients at local methadone clinics, nearly as soon as they were converted for Web use, according to several NYPD officials.
The like-to-watch throngs became such a plague that the company that created the kiosks for the city had to add an additional filter to thwart them.
The company, LinkNYC, “use[s] a highly regarded content monitoring system used by thousands of public schools and libraries across the country, and we recently implemented an additional filter for image searches,’’ said Ruth Fasoldt, a community-affairs manager for the firm.
The move did not sit well with the hardc0re-loving street people.
“I was watching p0rn on one of them things on, like, Saturday,” said a homeless man who identified himself as Hakeem, 44.
“Then on, like, Monday or Tuesday, all of a sudden I couldn’t,” he added.
“Once word got around, it stopped. It sucks, man. It was great.”
But he lamented that “there were kids who were skipping school and just coming over here to watch p0rn. The cops had to come and break them up.”
Joseph, 28, another homeless man, recalled his sadness upon discovering the free p0rn he was enjoying had suddenly stopped streaming.
“I was kind of pissed,” he said.
There are now 180 such kiosks in Manhattan and The Bronx, with up to 7,500 in the pipeline.
Additional reporting by Jamie Schram
so you wantt to ban Michael because he challenges right wing views on unfunded pension liabilities, but are happy with roosting of New York Post garbage
chi says:
June 20, 2016 at 8:03 am
Cutting Edge Technology For Civic Use (jj Edition):
The Post has learned.
posting
@BryanBehar
Paul Ryan says Trump’s racist.
Marco Rubio says he can’t be trusted w/ nuclear codes.
And these are his supporters.
#NeverTrump
Figured we’d see the other nincompoops here rushing to fill the ‘void’ left by Plumpty.
We went to Point Pleasant Beach yesterday so the kids could enjoy the rides and some fun. It was surreal beach day, like some strange version of Spring Break only the setting was a beach in perhaps Pakistan. Women in full-face veiling all black floor length attire, mixed with usual day tripping tatted up folks from various NJ cities, and the more traditional locals. Kids had fun, but me? I was watching out for trouble.
re # 9 – Nothing right wing about the New Jersey pension issues. Take off your blinders and go back and research and look at the last 5 governors and legislatures of NJ and look a the changes that were made including the actuarial ones, and the years they decided to skip payments etc. You will see both sides of the isle robbed the cookie jar, and kicked the can down the road again and again.
14- “And of course, the politicians most eager to cut pension benefits — notably Illinois Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner and Rhode Island Gov.-elect Gina Raimondo — have clear conflicts of interest when they clamor about the necessity of addressing their states’ unfunded pension liabilities. Rauner and Raimondo have large holdings in the private equity firms they previously managed, and the firms — GTCR and Point Judith Capital, respectively — manage millions for public pension funds in the two states.
Wall Street wants public discussion on pensions to focus on unfunded liabilities to deflect attention from the real problem: Nearly every major bank, hedge fund and private equity firm makes big money off pension funds. For a fund to run out of money is exceedingly rare. It is the mother of all red herrings — a carefully crafted plan to keep the public distracted while Wall Street walks to the bank.
The bludgeon of unfunded liabilities is then used to cut retirement benefits to teachers, firefighters and transit workers.
Pushing to cut benefits to public sector workers would be counterintuitive for Wall Street if that led to less money in the pension funds that managers make so much money on. But moves to cut benefits almost always coincide with manipulations to make pension funds seem worse funded than they are. In Detroit, the first major city to cut pension benefits in bankruptcy, the emergency manager lowered the assumed rate of return, which made the pension funds appear less funded, and mandated an additional infusion of cash from the city.
This double movement of lowered assumed rates of return and cutting benefits means that Wall Street can have its cake and eat it too, with more money in pension funds for managers to grift from and less paid out in benefits.
Fundamentally, by obsessing over long-term obligations, the corporate media and influential foundations distract from the core of the problem: Wall Street has its hand in the pension kitty. Hard-won benefits are not the problem; Wall Street is.”
“If you believe what the Pew Foundation or Brookings Institution has to tell you or The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal, unfunded pension liabilities threaten to sink state and local governments nationwide. Liabilities are painted as the issue the public needs to know about when it comes to retirement.
Estimates of the debt facing public sector pension plans range from $2 trillion to $4 trillion. Those seem like big numbers — and they are — but those obligations are to be paid out over the next 30 years. It’s for good reason that only one public sector pension fund has run out of money since the Great Depression. Yet editorial pages across the country use the unfunded liability argument to advance a right-wing agenda of cutting people’s benefits.
In Detroit, public sector retirees have lost cost-of-living adjustments, meaning that they will get poorer as they age. In San Jose, California, pension reform there has led to massively increased turnover as experienced public sector workers depart for parts of the state where their pensions will be secure.”
And you come to this blog because?
Ottoman says:
June 20, 2016 at 7:46 am
Joyce says:
June 18, 2016 at 9:59 am
grim do us all a favor and ban the mass posting / penny stock pumping idiot
Of course all the dipsh!ts here who spend half their days mumbling about pumpkin continue to engage him. And telling everyone you just scroll past his posts, which people seem to do quite regularly, is just more proof that he affects your day (and a sure tell that you don’t). Amazing how your egos won’t allow you to let go of needing to constantly prove yourselves superior to someone you claim has feeble arguments and borderline intelligence.
re # 15 – Sure Wall St can buy a politician, but at the end of the day the games played down in Trenton or some other capital have been called out by the press, the voters choose to ignore it and vote party line time and time again against any real reformer that shows up. Just take a look at the latest choice in NJ, Hillary over Bernie, a deal was cut in the back rooms of the Democratic party in May of 2015 to back her as the machine candidate.
You need to look no further that what goes on in Atlantic City every May.
http://www.njdems.org/annual_democratic_state_conference
I want to have my house sold and be as far away from NJ as possible when the pension bomb blows sky-high.
Honestly, I think Illinois might be in better shape than us.
juice (18)-
The Dumbos’ biggest voting bloc- via the Black Congressional Caucus- is fighting back hard against Bernie’s push to have this year’s platform include an end to Superdelegates.
You just can’t wean core constituencies from their bread and circuses cold turkey.
re # 19 – NJ Teachers pension for example, this is a direct quote from the Star Ledger this year.
“Over a 14-year span, Republican governors underfunded the pension system by $2.6 billion, then Democratic governors did so by $10.2 billion.”
[17] Joyce,
I don’t know why a ban on pumpkin makes sense when Footrest and the Twitiot are the true peddlers of illogic, bile and hate.
[4] footrest
“Of course all the dipsh!ts here who spend half their days mumbling about pumpkin continue to engage him”
Because he makes more sense than you. And he tries to contribute to discussion, making him far more valuable than you whose sole contribution to the public good will be when you become fertilizer, and the sooner the better.
Do you think this guy’s accent is really that pronounced? Looks cartoonish
http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/20/investing/pound-uk-brexit-rally-referendum/index.html?iid=hp-stack-dom
volume
Captain Nom Deplume, Besotted Rummy says:
June 20, 2016 at 9:42 am
[17] Joyce,
I don’t know why a ban on pumpkin makes sense when Footrest and the Twitiot are the true peddlers of illogic, bile and hate.
[18] juice,
A former colleague once told me (and I didn’t ask him how he knows this) that you can’t find a call girl in NJ during these events; they’re all in AC with the politicians.
[25] joyce,
Fair point. But I also believe in reversion to the mean. He would have gotten tired eventually.
re – # 22- re: “I don’t know why a ban on pumpkin makes sense”
It doesn’t he should be told to listen more and that is all. In my last few posts today I connected the dots for Pumps on why he should not argue “fairness” about the pensions, he is just regurgitating the party line. There is nothing fair about it. It is totally I got mine and FU from the Democrats. He really needs to realize that some of our opinions are actually looking out for his best interests. I assure you Sweeney and Prieto will be pushing for a ballot initiative this fall for a constitutional amendment to make the unfunded liabilities funded by much much higher taxes. And like many taxpayers in NJ the politicians can pick my pocket only for so long, before I simply stop showing up to the game. Perhaps it is time to find anther sucker to take over the bill for my Hacienda?
From the Star ledger today..
“Later in the podcast, New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) President Wendell Steinhauer and NJEA Executive Director Ed Richardson invoke the state’s budget too – to make their point that state payments to the pension liabilities should be a top priority in the budget, tantamount to paying debt services.
“Why can’t we be on par with the things that need to be paid up front?” Steinhauer asks. Steinhauer and Richardson say what they think of O’Scanlon’s plan and explain why New Jerseyans who do not have public pensions should vote in favor of the public ballot question in November. “
I have read at most 20 or so of Michael’s cumulative posts. Seriously. I only care that the vast majority of participants have obviously abandoned this place. For what reason I do not know……there are a core here that seem to be believe it is his fault……I never said so. Although I noted that grim started getting agitated, so I tended to think that there was some validity to the allegation.
GOP’s broken (the good one) says:
June 20, 2016 at 8:22 am
so you wantt to ban Michael because he challenges right wing views on unfunded pension liabilities, but are happy with roosting of New York Post garbage
chi says:
June 20, 2016 at 8:03 am
Cutting Edge Technology For Civic Use (jj Edition):
The Post has learned.
Why did the Brexit polling suddenly turn from leaving to staying after the murder of the MP. Doesn’t make sense to me.
I am curious as to people’s opinion regarding why the Justice Department would decline to prosecute. Other than the usual corruption/pay off/friends in high places.
[31] stater
The remain camp was able to get people to believe that the shooter was in the leave camp. Classic American style politicking.
Rumor has it…the gun was “homemade looking” according to eyewitnesses.
Comrade Nom Deplume. Citizen, 2nd Class. says:
June 20, 2016 at 12:22 pm
[31] stater
The remain camp was able to get people to believe that the shooter was in the leave camp. Classic American style politicking.
Anyone know whether the minister for propaganda been appointed yet?
[34] DFENS
Nothing I saw on internet reports is definitive but what is reported is that he bought numerous books on gunmaking.
[35] nwnj
Try to keep up, lad. She was appointed and took over for Eric Holder months ago.
[32] spanky
“I am curious as to people’s opinion regarding why the Justice Department would decline to prosecute. Other than the usual corruption/pay off/friends in high places.”
You pretty much hit the nut. Also, friends don’t let friends drive drunk and democrats don’t prosecute fellow democrats.
Remember when Elliot “Client No. 9” Spitzer fell from grace? He had all but admitted to a structuring violation (31 USC 5324), and some legal pundits pointed this out, but the Feds conveniently ignored it. BTW, here is what you have to prove, and you have to guess that a former Skadden associate and Attorney General would know this.
https://www.justice.gov/usam/criminal-resource-manual-2183-jury-instruction-elements-31-usc-5324a3
[36] redux
Also, per reports, Mair had to reload after each shot, and still managed to get off “several” shots.
So much for the theory that limiting mag sizes to 10 will stop mass shootings. I estimate it will take me an additional 6-8 seconds to reload twice with 10 round mags because I don’t have 30 round mags. The Cox shooting rebuts the notion that 10 round mags will save lives because someone will take out the shooter when he is reloading.
#33 Ugh. It seemed to switch within hours. I do not understand why people would vote to stay. Britain isn’t bureaucratic enough?
[40] stater
Can’t say. Not well versed enough on U.K. political issues. But the U.K. has always had an uneasy relationship with the continent. Getting in the EU was difficult (Maastrich almost not adopted) and they did not accept the euro nor are they a Schengen country.
I read some reports that the EU countries not using the euro would have to adopt it by 2020. I can’t say if this is factoring into the debate.
I’m all for efficiency, standardization, etc… but when it comes to the coldest of all cold monsters, the state, I want that as local as possible.
Re: Title Post, [38];
“I want no inquiries made. I want no acts of vengeance.” – Vito Corleone
With this, any remaining inquiries into the Housing Bubble of the ‘Aughts that precipitated the “Second Great Depression” are now officially over. After all, how do you prosecute a guy for doing exactly what the government ordered him to do?
plume (22)-
Gotta start somewhere. Plumpty also a logical 1st choice to jettison just because of the sheer volume of his idiocy.
I don’t mind reasoned opinions that run counter to mine (Anon e Moose comes to mind), but outright trolling is just an annoyance.
I mean, really: would any of us invite Piers Morgan in here?
plume (27)-
He showed no signs of tiring.
“He would have gotten tired eventually.”
Clot,
Plumpy to NJRE reports butthole: “I wish I knew how to quit you.”
Guy had serious addiction problem to this blog. No doubt that he will be back soon. In fact, who is this No One character? Seems like strange timing.
Nom [39];
The latest “reasonable restriction” I’ve heard floated is not merely banning magazines with greater than 10… no, 9… no, 7… — today let’s make it seven —
Not content to ban “high capacity” (>10 rounds… today) magazines, they would ban any firearm that could accept a “high capacity” (Oops! Now that’s >7 rounds!) magazine. I’ve seen subcompact Glocks with 17 round magazines extending below the grip in range videos. The simple and ubiquitous expedient of an open slot magazine entry is a banned feature. (What a shock! Inventing a reason to ban the most common feature of every semi-automatic firearm!)
“They don’t want to ban guns. Only the dangerous kind that fire bullets.”
#38 – “… and that defendant knew that structuring was unlawful…”
#43 – “After all, how do you prosecute a guy for doing exactly what the government ordered him to do?”
You can’t prosecute what the government allows.
[48] moose
The 7 round capacity issue was designed to eliminate all semi-autos. I’m not aware of any mfgr that makes a 7 round mag.
What gets me is why the mfgrs didn’t go after NY on interstate commerce grounds. If nothing else, it would have established a useful precedent that would have allowed some states to get around any future federal ban.
Not even top 10 on CNN…
A man arrested at a Donald Trump rally in Las Vegas told US authorities he tried to grab an officer’s gun so he could kill the candidate.
A complaint filed on Monday in US District Court in Nevada charges Michael Steven Sandford with an act of violence on restricted grounds. He’s expected to appear in court on Monday afternoon.
The Web….it’s not healthy for everyone
Nom [50];
What gets me is why the mfgrs didn’t go after NY on interstate commerce grounds. If nothing else, it would have established a useful precedent that would have allowed some states to get around any future federal ban.
On Dormant CC grounds? That’s a crap shoot isn’t it?
I would say they are trying to bring the musket ball back, but alas, it’s 50 caliber – and they are also trying to ban that as an assault caliber.
Thank god Christie vetoed the 50 cal ban.
Pretty sure single shot manual bolt action rifles will be banned because they are too accurate at long range, thus are “sniper rifles”.
[53] moose
Yeah. It’s a reach
[51] juice
I foresee no federal charges in his future.