Corzine May Have Stolen $1.2 Billion from MF Global

If Corzine was a Republican, he would be behind bars instead of running around:

Former Governor Jon S. Corzine (D-NJ) might have outsmarted himself as head of MF Global. A bankruptcy trustee today said that as much as $1.2 billion in customers' funds is missing.

Jon Corzine took over as head of MF Global shortly after he stepped down as Governor of New Jersey. During that time, he bet heavily on European sovereign debt. As those debts started to go bad, he co-mingled customers' settlement cash with the firm's own cash.

On October 29, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Inc.) reported that the New York subsidiary of MF Global was short $600 million in customers' accounts. Two days later, the entire firm declared bankruptcy. Four days after that, Corzine resigned. And today, three weeks after the initial bankruptcy, the bankruptcy trustee reported that the shortfall was double what he had thought. (See also here.)

Where's the money? Does Jon Corzine have it?

Where's the money? The bankruptcy trustee is trying to find that out. But even a week ago, the Associated Press pointed out that the bankrupt firm might sue Corzine to "claw back" the salary and bonuses it paid him during his tenure as its CEO.

Did he out-and-out steal that money? Ann Barnhardt, of Barnhardt Capital Management, thinks so. (She has ceased operations now, saying that the entire commodity futures-and-options market is worse than a gambling casino. "Russian Roulette" is the metaphor she chose.) The FBI is now looking into possible criminal charges. That might be why Fox News Channel said today that Corzine could be in "Bernie Madoff-style trouble."

Here's looking at you, Scumbag!

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