The Hellhound of Wall Street

Zusatztext "Absolutely riveting! Michael Perino's account of the 1933 Pecora hearings-the sensational revelations of shady business practices at the highest levels on Wall Street-is a page-turner. No one can read about the many excesses of Wall Street in the 1920s without being struck with the similarities to today and wondering why we have allowed history to repeat itself." -Liaquat Ahamed! author of Lords of Finance "A brilliant and compelling account of how Ferdinand Pecora figured out - and exposed in nauseating detail - the malpractice of Wall Street. As we struggle to confront our modern financial demons! we should all pause to read and reflect on Michael Perino's account." -Simon Johnson! co-author of 13 Bankers "Excellent." -Forbes.com "A thorough! well-written history that shows how the past can be prologue." - Kirkus Reviews "Hats off to Michael Perino. The Hellhound of Wall Street is an excellent account of the Pecora hearings that should be read by everyone interested in financial reform. At the same time! it is a penetrating Wall Street morality tale that should evoke a strong sense of dTja vu in its readers." -Charles Geisst! author of Collateral Damaged and Wall Street: A History "It has taken another economic melt-down to restore public recognition of Ferdinand Pecora as the most effective investigator of financial wrongdoing in American history. Michael Perino deftly recreates the dark days of 1933! when that shrewd New York prosecutor turned Senate committee counsel forced Wall Street's biggest bankers and brokers to admit how they contributed to the nation's slide into the Great Depression." -Donald A. Ritchie! author of The U.S. Congress: A Very Short Introduction " The Hellhound of Wall Street is a masterful evocation of the politics! finance and personalities when Congress last addressed systematic reform of our financial system." -Joel Seligman! author of The Transformation of Wall Street " The Hellhound of Wall Street is an incisive and timely book about a man and period in our country's history when a presumptuous! reckless Wall Street elite! very much like the one that's caused such ruin today! met its match. We badly need a second Ferdinand Pecora now. Michael Perino provides brilliant analysis! telling anecdotal material! and wears his deep erudition easily. He has given us a vital cautionary tale from the past that is a pure pleasure to read." -Steve Fraser! author of Every Man a Speculator: A History of Wall Street in American Life Informationen zum Autor Michael Perino Klappentext "Ferdinand Pecora's famous 10-day investigation into the secrets of Wall Street in 1933 makes a superb story...It has an ideal storyteller in Michael Perino." -Financial Times A riveting courtroom drama with remarkable contemporary relevance! The Hellhound of Wall Street brings to life a crucial turning point in American financial history: the 1933 hearings that put Wall Street on trial for the Great Crash. Michael Perino recreates the ten dramatic days when Ferdinand Pecora! a Sicilian immigrant turned Senate investigator! cross-examined the officers of National City Bank (today's Citigroup)! particularly its chairman! Charles Mitchell! one of the best-known bankers of his day. Pecora's rigorous questioning exposed City Bank's shocking financial abuses! revelations that galvanized public opinion and led directly to the New Deal's landmark economic reforms. Introduction Saturday, March 4, 1933?Inauguration Day?was one of those raw March days when it seems that spring will never come. The thick layer of steel gray clouds sheathing the sky threatened rain, and a northwest wind whipped across Capitol Hill. Sunshine broke through on occasion, but it was dull and fleeting and did littl...

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Michael Perino

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"Ferdinand Pecora's famous 10-day investigation into the secrets of Wall Street in 1933 makes a superb story...It has an ideal storyteller in Michael Perino." -Financial Times A riveting courtroom drama with remarkable contemporary relevance, The Hellhound of Wall Street brings to life a crucial turning point in American financial history: the 1933 hearings that put Wall Street on trial for the Great Crash. Michael Perino recreates the ten dramatic days when Ferdinand Pecora, a Sicilian immigrant turned Senate investigator, cross-examined the officers of National City Bank (today's Citigroup), particularly its chairman, Charles Mitchell, one of the best-known bankers of his day. Pecora's rigorous questioning exposed City Bank's shocking financial abuses, revelations that galvanized public opinion and led directly to the New Deal's landmark economic reforms.

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Introduction Saturday, March 4, 1933—Inauguration Day—was one of those raw March days when it seems that spring will never come. The thick layer of steel gray clouds sheathing the sky threatened rain, and a northwest wind whipped across Capitol Hill. Sunshine broke through on occasion, but it was dull and fleeting and did little to relieve the dreariness of that damp, chilly day.

Historians would later pinpoint that winter as the nadir of the Great Depression, but Americans hardly needed to be seers to realize that the economy could not get much worse. Thirty-eight states had closed their banks entirely, and everywhere else withdrawals were sharply curtailed. Outright bank failures numbered in the thousands annually. In those days before deposit insurance, one in four families lost their life savings. The economy was in full retreat, industrial production was half what it had been just four years earlier, and unemployment was an appalling 25 percent. Farmers were decimated after a decade of plummeting crop prices. Shantytowns of the dispossessed, sarcastically dubbed Hoovervilles, dotted the landscape, and breadlines stretched around many blocks. Homes were foreclosed, renters evicted, and signs of malnutrition among schoolchildren were increasingly evident. On Friday, March 3, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had been 86 percent off its wildly inflated pre-crash peak in September 1929. At the end of trading that day, the New York Stock Exchange announced that it would be closed indefinitely.

In the midst of the economic chaos, a shivering crowd of at least 100,000 gathered near the east portico of the Capitol to hear Franklin Roosevelt's plan of attack, some perched in the icy bare trees, others crammed in bleachers or crowded atop adjacent buildings. Pundits from all points of the political spectrum were openly calling for Roosevelt to assume dictatorial powers to address the crisis. In some parts of the country the possibility of revolution was openly discussed, and Lloyds of London was doing a booming business in riot and civil disturbance insurance.

The previous spring, tens of thousands of unemployed World War I veterans and their families marched on Washington, demanding early payment of a promised bonus for wartime service, many protesting on the very spot where the inaugural crowd now gathered. The bonus never came, and in late July, the Army chief of staff, General Douglas MacArthur, let loose his cavalry, sabers and bayonets drawn, on the thousands still milling in the capital. Through clouds of tear gas, the tanks and soldiers drove the bonus army from the city and burned their encampment along the Anacostia River to the ground. Seven months later, Washington still had an ominous, wartime feel. Government buildings were heavily guarded, police patrols ringed the White House, and machine gun nests were strategically placed along the inaugural parade route.

The new president made his way across the crowded platform, gripping his son Jimmy's arm with one hand and leaning on a cane with the other, giving the crowd the illusion that he was walking. After being sworn in by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, Roosevelt turned to address the gathered crowd. Despite the c…