Spitzer said the states are getting involved because "federal
authorities that theoretically should have been on the front lines
were not as attentive as they should have been."
"There's been an enforcement void filled by attorneys general,
treasurers and comptrollers," he said.
From The Washington Post, 12/22/03:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20218-2003Dec21.html
After Scandals, State Treasurers Take Aim at Corruption
By Jim Wasserman
Associated Press
Monday, December 22, 2003; Page A08
SACRAMENTO --
Burned from losing billions of dollars in scandals and bankruptcies, a
growing band of state treasurers have scrapped their low profiles to
wage a campaign to clean up Wall Street and America's corporate
suites.
The treasurers and comptrollers are sounding out from often-obscure
capital backwaters, places such as Albany, N.Y., and Sacramento, to
more actively wield the clout of more than $1.5 trillion in public
investment funds.
In California, New York, Connecticut, North Carolina and elsewhere,
they are pushing reforms, demanding less extravagant executives'
salaries, for instance.
They are yanking their investments from companies that move their
headquarters abroad for tax purposes or from mutual funds accused of
mishandling money.
They are trying to run more independent candidates for corporate
boards to curb what many call the worst wave of corporate fraud,
deception and scandal since the stock market crash of 1929.
The most recent example came last Tuesday, when California's top
finance officials filed an unprecedented lawsuit against the New York
Stock Exchange, seeking millions of dollars for investment losses due
to alleged "illegal trading practices."
North Carolina Treasurer Richard H. Moore, who helped start the
crusade last year with New York Attorney General Eliot L. Spitzer and
California Treasurer Phil Angelides, said the stream of improprieties
on Wall Street pushed him into action.
"Somewhere between Enron and WorldCom, I just got mad," Moore said.
Spitzer said the states are getting involved because "federal
authorities that theoretically should have been on the front lines
were not as attentive as they should have been."
"There's been an enforcement void filled by attorneys general,
treasurers and comptrollers," he said.
__________________________________________________
You didn't *really* expect the Bushies to go after their biggest
campaign contributors just because their criminals, did ya?
Harry
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