Wall Street On Parade
“Back in 2002, Mark Belnick, who had previously been one of the legal go-to guys for Wall Street as a rising star at corporate law firm Paul,Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, found himself transplanted as General Counsel at fraud-infested Tyco International. Mr. Belnick inked a retention agreement for himself and it was duly filed without fanfare at the top corporate cop’s web site, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
"The agreement guaranteed Mr. Belnick a payment of at least $10.6 million should he commit a felony and be fired before October 2003.
“Very prescient fellow, Mr. Belnick was indeed charged with a few felonies like grand larceny and securities fraud by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
"Mr. Belnick was acquitted of those charges and the SEC let him off the hook for aiding and abetting federal violations of securities laws with a $100,000 penalty payment and a prohibition against serving as an officer or director of a public company for five years.
"Mr. Belnick agreed to the SEC settlement without admitting or denying the charges.
"Mr. Belnick did not lose his law license…
“While Mr. Belnick was drafting his ‘felony bonus’ agreement with Tyco, he was also teaching a law course at Cornell on ethics.”
How did the Golden Rule of ancient civilizations from Egypt, Greece, and Israel morph into a fraud bonus?
"What does ethical practice mean in a capitalist context?
"According to the Oxford English Dictionary, ethics relate to moral principles, avoiding practices and organisations that do harm to the environment.
"Capitalism, as an economic and political system where trade and industry are controlled not by the state but by private owners for profit, seems to render ‘ethical capitalism’ a contradiction in terms." - See more at: The Great Debate: Can Capitalism be Ethical?
“Back in 2002, Mark Belnick, who had previously been one of the legal go-to guys for Wall Street as a rising star at corporate law firm Paul,Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, found himself transplanted as General Counsel at fraud-infested Tyco International. Mr. Belnick inked a retention agreement for himself and it was duly filed without fanfare at the top corporate cop’s web site, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
"The agreement guaranteed Mr. Belnick a payment of at least $10.6 million should he commit a felony and be fired before October 2003.
“Very prescient fellow, Mr. Belnick was indeed charged with a few felonies like grand larceny and securities fraud by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
"Mr. Belnick was acquitted of those charges and the SEC let him off the hook for aiding and abetting federal violations of securities laws with a $100,000 penalty payment and a prohibition against serving as an officer or director of a public company for five years.
"Mr. Belnick agreed to the SEC settlement without admitting or denying the charges.
"Mr. Belnick did not lose his law license…
“While Mr. Belnick was drafting his ‘felony bonus’ agreement with Tyco, he was also teaching a law course at Cornell on ethics.”
How did the Golden Rule of ancient civilizations from Egypt, Greece, and Israel morph into a fraud bonus?
"What does ethical practice mean in a capitalist context?
"According to the Oxford English Dictionary, ethics relate to moral principles, avoiding practices and organisations that do harm to the environment.
"Capitalism, as an economic and political system where trade and industry are controlled not by the state but by private owners for profit, seems to render ‘ethical capitalism’ a contradiction in terms." - See more at: The Great Debate: Can Capitalism be Ethical?
