As I begin to research my book about Caperton vs. Massey, one of the strangest things is the attitude of so many people about coal. They sit there in front of their computers running on coal-generated electricity in rooms lit up by coal-generated electrcity, looking out on almost everything before them that has in some measure benefited from coal energy. And yet they have this idea that coal is dirty and the coal business in dirty and anybody who gets near to it is soiled. One of the few journailsts to see it in a different way is James Fallows who wrote a terrific piece in the Atlantic about coal, a realistic essay about the role that coal will inevitably have in the forseeable future.
I think about the only acceptable prejudice left in American life is toward southern accents expecially if they're from West Virginia or Kentucky. Anybody who sounds like that just has to be stupid. And if you've got a New York accent, you've got to be smart.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
PLUGGING A WEASEL HOLE IN WEST VIRGINIA
Recently the West Virginia House of Delegates plugged what Associated Press news editor Brian Farkas called a "weasel hole." In doing so the elected officials by a unanimous vote asserted their rights as the people's representatives over a West Virginia Supreme Court corrupted by money and power. They delegates said that from now on the five justices cannot claim an exemption from the state's Freedom of Information Laws.
If there is one man who deserves credit for this important legislation that now must pass the West Virginia Senate, it is Hugh Caperton, who, for the past thirteen years, has been fighting a legal struggle against Massey Energy, the largest coal company in the state, and its CEO, Don Blankenship.
Massey Energy drove Caperton's small mine into bankruptcy in 1998. Caperton sued and he and his Harman Coal Company won a $50 million verdict in the circuit court in 2004. Massey Energy appealed to a West Virginia Supreme Court that Blankenship turned into an instrument to do his bidding. He spent over $3 million electing a conservative corporate lawyer, Brent Benjamin, to the high court. In a landmark ruling, the United States Supreme Court said that a plaintiff in a lawsuit cannot contribute large amounts of money to a candidate who will then vote on his case before the court.
Benjamin had to recuse himself, but Blankenship had not limited his largess to one justice. Blankenship had an even more special relationship with Chief Justice Elliot "Spike" Maynard. As the case was before the court, Blankenship and Maynard vacationed together on the French and Italian Riviera with their girlfriends. When photos of the two happy couples mysteriously showed up in Caperton's attorney's office, the judge had to recuse himself. But the court, nonetheless, for the third time voted against Caperton, citing an obscure procedural error.
The AP sued under the Freedom of Information Law to get hold of the emails between Blankenship and the chief justice. These emails may show evidence of bribery or they may show nothing at all. But they are a crucial part of the public record. The West Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the mails must remain private.
In West Virginia, the political system has in many respects failed the people, and the courts have become the last refuge of true justice. Plaintiff lawyers are often not the most heroic of figures, but they are the ones standing up and taking on companies that have hurt the people of the state and needlessly damaged the beautiful hills. But what happens when justice can be bought? What happens when the highest court in the state is a repository for the lowest political motives? Where is justice then?
The House of Delegates is telling the people of the state that their elected officials are the true guardians of justice. There is restlessness in West Virginia now. Since 29 miners died in Massey's Upper Big Branch mine last April, Blankenship has been pushed into retirement. People are waking up to the damage Massey Energy did to all kinds of people in all kinds of ways. The politicians can feel the ground moving under their feet, and they are rushing to get ahead or be trampled.
If there is one man who deserves credit for this important legislation that now must pass the West Virginia Senate, it is Hugh Caperton, who, for the past thirteen years, has been fighting a legal struggle against Massey Energy, the largest coal company in the state, and its CEO, Don Blankenship.
Massey Energy drove Caperton's small mine into bankruptcy in 1998. Caperton sued and he and his Harman Coal Company won a $50 million verdict in the circuit court in 2004. Massey Energy appealed to a West Virginia Supreme Court that Blankenship turned into an instrument to do his bidding. He spent over $3 million electing a conservative corporate lawyer, Brent Benjamin, to the high court. In a landmark ruling, the United States Supreme Court said that a plaintiff in a lawsuit cannot contribute large amounts of money to a candidate who will then vote on his case before the court.
Benjamin had to recuse himself, but Blankenship had not limited his largess to one justice. Blankenship had an even more special relationship with Chief Justice Elliot "Spike" Maynard. As the case was before the court, Blankenship and Maynard vacationed together on the French and Italian Riviera with their girlfriends. When photos of the two happy couples mysteriously showed up in Caperton's attorney's office, the judge had to recuse himself. But the court, nonetheless, for the third time voted against Caperton, citing an obscure procedural error.
The AP sued under the Freedom of Information Law to get hold of the emails between Blankenship and the chief justice. These emails may show evidence of bribery or they may show nothing at all. But they are a crucial part of the public record. The West Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the mails must remain private.
In West Virginia, the political system has in many respects failed the people, and the courts have become the last refuge of true justice. Plaintiff lawyers are often not the most heroic of figures, but they are the ones standing up and taking on companies that have hurt the people of the state and needlessly damaged the beautiful hills. But what happens when justice can be bought? What happens when the highest court in the state is a repository for the lowest political motives? Where is justice then?
The House of Delegates is telling the people of the state that their elected officials are the true guardians of justice. There is restlessness in West Virginia now. Since 29 miners died in Massey's Upper Big Branch mine last April, Blankenship has been pushed into retirement. People are waking up to the damage Massey Energy did to all kinds of people in all kinds of ways. The politicians can feel the ground moving under their feet, and they are rushing to get ahead or be trampled.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
For Wealthy Tax Cheats, The Day of Reckoning is Here
I posted this blog on Huffingtonpost.com yesterday. It has created a firestorm of controversy. A friend said that people in Palm Beach are going to be upset. I said that only the tax cheats will be upset.
In some of the great houses in Palm Beach and the penthouses of Manhattan's East Side, wealthy Americans are sleeping fitfully, their nights haunted by fear of exposure. In the Bush years, the IRS became so lax in its enforcement that cheating became routine and hidden Swiss bank accounts almost as much a status symbol as private jets.
Why not do it? Everyone else was doing it. You knew you would never be caught, and you were protected by accountants and lawyers to hide your tracks. Your deceit and betrayal of American laws was shrewd strategy. It's grossly unfair that after all these years you might have to take the perp walk. And doing it, you're not going to look as nonplussed as Bernie Madoff did either.
It was so simple. Say you had a women's clothing company importing dresses from China and you were purchasing $1 million in dresses. You had the Chinese manufacturer send you a bill for $2 million. You wired him the money and he immediately wired half into your Swiss account. And say you've got a half billion dollar company and you keep doing this for ten years. Figure it out. Nobody could ever catch you as long as the Swiss kept their accounts secret.
This is big business. A person I know decided to check out her account in Switzerland. She walked into a tiny bank that looked like a 19th century cuckoo clock and took the old elevator upstairs. It opened up to a modern trading floor as big as a city block.
And now in the early days of the Obama administration, the gig may be up and there is stark terror among the knowledgeable. The sheer amounts of money waiting to be discovered are staggering, billions upon billions of dollars. There is so much money out there that once the taxes and penalties are paid, it could have a significant impact on the budget. And it couldn't be happening to a greedier, more selfish lot, most of them faux patriots to the core.
The first moment of truth arrives Monday when Attorney General Eric Holder meets with Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, Swiss councilor in charge of police and justice. In the wake of the UBS debacle, the American government is seeking information on 52,000 American customers. The Swiss are willing to give up 250 customers whose tax fraud is most obvious, but not the others.
The Swiss have a special gift in masking their hypocrisy and narrow self-interest in a veneer of morality and principle. The bankers of Zurich are not happy at this seeming attempt to abrogate treaties that allow thieves to hide their funds with impunity.
Faith Whittlesey, a former ambassador to Switzerland, is a brilliant woman and a dear friend of mine from whom I learn even when I disagree. And I've rarely disagreed more with her than I do on this one. I find her stern warnings in The Financial Times Monday hardly enough reason for the American government to back off. She writes that "one of the largest Swiss political parties is agitating for retaliation that would include discontinuing Swiss representation of US interests in countries such as Cuba and Iran, where the US does not have embassies" and warns of "more virulent anti-Americanism."
I don't know about you, but I'm not sitting here quaking. If it comes to it, I'm willing to give up Swiss chocolate. But as an American who pays his taxes, I want these wealthy tax cheats to be found and punished severely including serious prison time for the worst of them.
In some of the great houses in Palm Beach and the penthouses of Manhattan's East Side, wealthy Americans are sleeping fitfully, their nights haunted by fear of exposure. In the Bush years, the IRS became so lax in its enforcement that cheating became routine and hidden Swiss bank accounts almost as much a status symbol as private jets.
Why not do it? Everyone else was doing it. You knew you would never be caught, and you were protected by accountants and lawyers to hide your tracks. Your deceit and betrayal of American laws was shrewd strategy. It's grossly unfair that after all these years you might have to take the perp walk. And doing it, you're not going to look as nonplussed as Bernie Madoff did either.
It was so simple. Say you had a women's clothing company importing dresses from China and you were purchasing $1 million in dresses. You had the Chinese manufacturer send you a bill for $2 million. You wired him the money and he immediately wired half into your Swiss account. And say you've got a half billion dollar company and you keep doing this for ten years. Figure it out. Nobody could ever catch you as long as the Swiss kept their accounts secret.
This is big business. A person I know decided to check out her account in Switzerland. She walked into a tiny bank that looked like a 19th century cuckoo clock and took the old elevator upstairs. It opened up to a modern trading floor as big as a city block.
And now in the early days of the Obama administration, the gig may be up and there is stark terror among the knowledgeable. The sheer amounts of money waiting to be discovered are staggering, billions upon billions of dollars. There is so much money out there that once the taxes and penalties are paid, it could have a significant impact on the budget. And it couldn't be happening to a greedier, more selfish lot, most of them faux patriots to the core.
The first moment of truth arrives Monday when Attorney General Eric Holder meets with Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, Swiss councilor in charge of police and justice. In the wake of the UBS debacle, the American government is seeking information on 52,000 American customers. The Swiss are willing to give up 250 customers whose tax fraud is most obvious, but not the others.
The Swiss have a special gift in masking their hypocrisy and narrow self-interest in a veneer of morality and principle. The bankers of Zurich are not happy at this seeming attempt to abrogate treaties that allow thieves to hide their funds with impunity.
Faith Whittlesey, a former ambassador to Switzerland, is a brilliant woman and a dear friend of mine from whom I learn even when I disagree. And I've rarely disagreed more with her than I do on this one. I find her stern warnings in The Financial Times Monday hardly enough reason for the American government to back off. She writes that "one of the largest Swiss political parties is agitating for retaliation that would include discontinuing Swiss representation of US interests in countries such as Cuba and Iran, where the US does not have embassies" and warns of "more virulent anti-Americanism."
I don't know about you, but I'm not sitting here quaking. If it comes to it, I'm willing to give up Swiss chocolate. But as an American who pays his taxes, I want these wealthy tax cheats to be found and punished severely including serious prison time for the worst of them.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Dinner in DC
I’m up in Washington for what I call a blizzard and my friend from New England says is a dusting of snow. Yeah, five inches.
I am an intellectual bigamist. When I’m in Palm Beach, I dress like the natives and am indistinguishable from the rest of the poseurs. Then when I come to Washington I don my journalistic garb, a ratty jacket and scruffy shoes, never leave the house without my hands stained with ink, pepper my conversations with the word “fuck” and snarl greetings to anyone outside my sacred circle of journalists.
In Palm Beach, there are more Italian restaurants than there are in Rome. At dawn the trucks laden with pasta make their way onto the island. In Washington, there are Ethiopian restaurants by the score, Indian takeouts on every corner, Thai places squeezed among Vietnamese restaurants and hardly any Italian restaurants. Oh there is an Italian chain restaurant. It starts with an “M” and that’s all I’m saying. The portions are gigantic, at least four times what a normal person would eat. They don’t give you plates. You line up at a trough.
I am an intellectual bigamist. When I’m in Palm Beach, I dress like the natives and am indistinguishable from the rest of the poseurs. Then when I come to Washington I don my journalistic garb, a ratty jacket and scruffy shoes, never leave the house without my hands stained with ink, pepper my conversations with the word “fuck” and snarl greetings to anyone outside my sacred circle of journalists.
In Palm Beach, there are more Italian restaurants than there are in Rome. At dawn the trucks laden with pasta make their way onto the island. In Washington, there are Ethiopian restaurants by the score, Indian takeouts on every corner, Thai places squeezed among Vietnamese restaurants and hardly any Italian restaurants. Oh there is an Italian chain restaurant. It starts with an “M” and that’s all I’m saying. The portions are gigantic, at least four times what a normal person would eat. They don’t give you plates. You line up at a trough.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
20/20 Does its Thing
Brian Ross is the best reporter in television. I already knew that even before I met the guy. He's a true reporter. He's not into glitz. He's into getting the story and he's fearless. He did his thing on Madoff and Palm Beach last night on 20/20 and it was by far the best thing that's been done. And I know lots more was there that didn't make the cut. The program was cut down from the hour it was supposed to be. Anna Schecter was the producer in Palm Beach. She's a killer. I don't want her on my trail. Don't be misled by her looks, she's a tiger as Robert Jaffe found out.
I've had experiences with reporters before where they suck you dry, ask for your sources, and then move on leaving with you nothing for your time. Brian and Anna made sure that I was amply quoted and the reaction is incredible. Nobody believes what this one segment has done to the sale of Madness Under the Royal Palms: Love and Death Behind the Gates of Palm Beach. It was already a bestseller but it's now basically the number three nonfiction hardcover on Amazon, not bad for a book published a month ago.
Anyway, you might enjoy the program if you missed it. I'm in the second part. You can find it at:
http://abcnews.go.com/2020
I've had experiences with reporters before where they suck you dry, ask for your sources, and then move on leaving with you nothing for your time. Brian and Anna made sure that I was amply quoted and the reaction is incredible. Nobody believes what this one segment has done to the sale of Madness Under the Royal Palms: Love and Death Behind the Gates of Palm Beach. It was already a bestseller but it's now basically the number three nonfiction hardcover on Amazon, not bad for a book published a month ago.
Anyway, you might enjoy the program if you missed it. I'm in the second part. You can find it at:
http://abcnews.go.com/2020
Ellen Jaffe's Revenge
I had a meeting at the Kravis Center Wednesday about my talk there on March 16. I knew that they had received all kinds of pressure to cancel the event, and I had been told that they had caved in. That wasn't true, and I left the meeting with great admiration for the administration of the Kravis Center and their commitment to intellectual liberty. It had nothing to do with me or my book, it was liberty and freedom of expression they were defending.
I assumed that the meeting was confidential and when the following day I received a phone call from Page Six at the New York Post, I figured someone at the meeting had leaked the story. It turned out, as I just learned from an email a few minutes ago, that the two events had nothing to do with one another. The person who alerted Page Six had learned the information from members of the Palm Beach Country Club. Alas, the gossip item makes it look as if I am the primary source. Nothing to be done and it's a healthy thing to have Ellen Jaffe's behavior exposed. Here's the piece:
THE wife of Bob Jaffe - the Palm Beach bon vivant in the doghouse for getting the tony island's millionaires to invest with Bernard Madoff - is fighting for her beleaguered husband's honor.
Author Laurence Leamer says Ellen Shapiro Jaffe is waging a fierce campaign to get his upcoming lecture at the Kravis Center axed because of unflattering cracks he made about her hubby in Boston magazine. "She is especially pissed and she's pressuring them," Leamer told Page Six. "You would think she'd be in social hibernation and have better things to do."
In the article, Leamer called Jaffe "a 60-something peacock in a black dinner jacket . . . [with] an aging gigolo's looks, with sleek black hair and a face that if not lifted by plastic surgery . . . looked not youthful so much as the caricature of youth."
Jaffe, originally a Boston shoe salesman, "was looking for a rich wife and Ellen was the best he could do," said one source, who describes him as a Madoff "middleman . . . steering eager clients his way and collecting easy fees in return."
Leamer - set to discuss his book, "Madness Under the Royal Palms," at the Kravis Center on March 16 - said, "The phone has been ringing off the hook for weeks asking them to cancel me - and the name behind it I keep hearing is Ellen Jaffe . . . She's not letting up. Luckily, they have the courage to stand up to it."
Jaffe's rep, Elliot Sloan, said that Ellen, a Kravis Center board member, made only two calls to officials there about Leamer's book because "all it does is open up hurtful wounds in the community." Sloan also slammed the article as "full of inaccuracies," insisting Jaffe has not had plastic surgery, noting he's been married to Ellen for 40 years and they "are very much in love."
Jaffe's name has been mud since the Madoff scandal broke. In December, he was called a "dirty bastard" and nearly pummeled at Mar-a-Lago by Nine West founder Jerome Fisher, who lost $150 million.
I assumed that the meeting was confidential and when the following day I received a phone call from Page Six at the New York Post, I figured someone at the meeting had leaked the story. It turned out, as I just learned from an email a few minutes ago, that the two events had nothing to do with one another. The person who alerted Page Six had learned the information from members of the Palm Beach Country Club. Alas, the gossip item makes it look as if I am the primary source. Nothing to be done and it's a healthy thing to have Ellen Jaffe's behavior exposed. Here's the piece:
THE wife of Bob Jaffe - the Palm Beach bon vivant in the doghouse for getting the tony island's millionaires to invest with Bernard Madoff - is fighting for her beleaguered husband's honor.
Author Laurence Leamer says Ellen Shapiro Jaffe is waging a fierce campaign to get his upcoming lecture at the Kravis Center axed because of unflattering cracks he made about her hubby in Boston magazine. "She is especially pissed and she's pressuring them," Leamer told Page Six. "You would think she'd be in social hibernation and have better things to do."
In the article, Leamer called Jaffe "a 60-something peacock in a black dinner jacket . . . [with] an aging gigolo's looks, with sleek black hair and a face that if not lifted by plastic surgery . . . looked not youthful so much as the caricature of youth."
Jaffe, originally a Boston shoe salesman, "was looking for a rich wife and Ellen was the best he could do," said one source, who describes him as a Madoff "middleman . . . steering eager clients his way and collecting easy fees in return."
Leamer - set to discuss his book, "Madness Under the Royal Palms," at the Kravis Center on March 16 - said, "The phone has been ringing off the hook for weeks asking them to cancel me - and the name behind it I keep hearing is Ellen Jaffe . . . She's not letting up. Luckily, they have the courage to stand up to it."
Jaffe's rep, Elliot Sloan, said that Ellen, a Kravis Center board member, made only two calls to officials there about Leamer's book because "all it does is open up hurtful wounds in the community." Sloan also slammed the article as "full of inaccuracies," insisting Jaffe has not had plastic surgery, noting he's been married to Ellen for 40 years and they "are very much in love."
Jaffe's name has been mud since the Madoff scandal broke. In December, he was called a "dirty bastard" and nearly pummeled at Mar-a-Lago by Nine West founder Jerome Fisher, who lost $150 million.
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