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Monday, December 15, 2008

12/15/08 READER SUBMITTED COMMENTS: Why Aren't You Following Up On Hamilton Avenue School


Reader Thinks Greenwich Roundup HAS Coverage Is All Wet


Why aren't you following up on the story.


The parents received a letter home stating that the modulars are leaking again. And they continue to use these mold infested structures to educate our young children. This is a crime. Now they want Glenville to go there. What is wrong with these people.


COMMENT:


I did not now that the school had sent out a letter admitting that the modulars are once again leaking.


Please send me a copy of the letter in the body of an email and I will publish it here at Greenwich Roundup.


It looks like we are going to have to get some digital cameras into Hamilton Avenue School to document the situation. In the past we have published pictures of the conditions inside the Glenville School restrooms and of the water leaks and mold in the "NEW" 30 Million Dollars Hamilton Avenue School that has improper air flow.


FOR THE RECORD:


Greenwich Roundup was the only news organization that reported about the water once again leaking at Hamilton Avenue School. Clueless Hearst Newspaper Editors (Don Harrison) And Jim Zorba (Greenwich Time), as well as, the Greenwich Post editor have ignored HAS parents complaints that the modular are once again leaking.


PLEASE SEE:




THE MODULARS ARE HAVING WATER AND ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS
FIRE ALARM HAS BEEN SET OFF DURING THE SCHOOL DAY!!!!


....The Hamilton Avenue School Principal is so self absorbed and concerned with her image and her career as an administrator, she has lost perspective. God help the children of Hamilton Avenue School as they are shoved in a school that is not up to code.


Where is Ken West the building maintenance supervisor?


How is this trailer park permitted to stay open?


If this were a private home it would be condemned.




Go Back To Your Wet And Unsafe Modular Classrooms!!!!


.....Principal Damaris Rau sounds like an idiot. She should not be in charge of one child, never mind a school full of kids....




PLEASE NOTE:


Obviously The Greenwich Board Of Education Took Notice That Over 1,000 Greenwich Roundup Readers Were Aware That The Modulars Are Leaking, Because For The First Time The Sent Home A Letter Admitting To The Poor Maintenance And Leaks.


These Leaks Should Have Been Fixed Four Months Ago:





PLEASE ALSO SEE:





WHERE IS THE GREENWICH BUILDING DEPARTMENT?


It Looks Like We Have To Pull Out The Digital Cameras Again:










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12/15/08 Are You Ready For Some Football: Greenwich Natives To Design A Wide Range Of Products For The NFL


You Wont Read This At The Greenwich Time Website




PRESS RELEASE:(PR.com)


Brothers Shep and Ian Murray, CEOs and Co-Founders of vineyard vines®, announced today that their company has entered into a licensing arrangement with the National Football League to design and distribute a collection of men’s and women’s custom apparel and accessories. The initial offering of ties includes the New York Giants, New York Jets, New England Patriots, Washington Redskins and Tennessee Titans, and will be available online and in free-standing vineyard vines® stores by January 2009.


“We’ve had an overwhelming response from our sports products in the past, and we’re thrilled about our new licensing arrangement with the NFL,” said Shep Murray. “Now our customers can bring their team spirit to work.”


By the end of 2009, vineyard vines® will release collections for the other NFL teams with a wider range of products that may include ties, sashes, belts, tote bags, men’s & women’s polos, sleepwear, headbands and key fobs.


vineyard vines®, a company best known for its elegant neckties, was founded in 1998 on Martha’s Vineyard by brothers Shep and Ian Murray. The company now offers a variety of accessories and apparel for men, women and children. vineyard vines® products are sold in over 600 specialty and department stores worldwide, directly through their catalog at 800-892-4982, online at www.vineyardvines.com, and at nine free-standing stores in Boston, MA; Edgartown, MA; Greenwich, CT; Mashpee, MA; Memphis, TN; Nantucket, MA; The Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, FL; Washington, DC; and Westport, CT.



Contact Information


vineyard vines

Lindsey Worster

203-504-5708




MORE INFORMATION:




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12/15/08 Kathy Fuld Trying to Hide Her $10,000 Shopping Sprees from the Public... And Her Husband


You Wont Read This On The Greenwich Time Website
Last week, the New York Times reported that the very rich ladies in this city have not stopped shopping, despite how "vulgar" it might seem: They simply started shopping in private at shopping parties, private hotel suites, and by-appointment-only showrooms so as not to get tarred and feathered along Fifth Avenue.


Then there are women like Kathy Fuld, wife of former Lehman Brothers chairman Dick Fuld, who, according to The Daily Beast, has been visiting Hermes on a weekly basis and spending between $5,000 and $10,000 at a time. It seems she simply can't be bothered with this whole saving business right now regardless of how much of a public villain her husband has become. (On the bright side, at least she's funneling money back into the struggling economy.)


But there are signs that Mrs. Fuld is, like her rich compatriots, feeling the potential public relations blowback. Recently, she stopped in for three cashmere throws at $2,225 each and asked for an unmarked white bag--instead of the store's signature orange bag--to carry them home in. But that leads us to wonder whether she is hiding her offensive spending habits from the public, or her husband? (According to the article, many shoppers like Mrs. Fuld "are ferrying their purchases home in unmarked bags; delegating delivery to assistants; or manipulating credit card bills to disguise their spending from outsiders—and their spouses" [emphasis added]. Related: Gawker speculates that it was Daily Beast editor Tina Brown who spotted Mrs. Fuld at Hermes.)


After all, Mr. Fuld, who was "terminated" from Lehman without bonus or a severance package, has been making an effort to hide from the public recently; he even sold his private collection of modern art at Christie's, perhaps to send the message that he, too, now needs to figure out ways to save. A few weeks ago, New York magazine reported that the former chairman has been having trouble sleeping due to the disastrous end of his company


So pulling up to the Fuld homestead in Greenwich, Conn. with too many Hermes bags to carry may not be the best call right now on Mrs. Fuld's part. Then again, maybe when Mrs. Fuld gets home she can cover Mr. Fuld with one of those $2,225 Hermes blankets so that he can finally get some sound sleep.




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12/15/08 Eddie Lampert News Watch: Another Greenwich Billionaire Behaving Badly - Or - America's Worst CEO Gets Nailed By The Justice Department


Last year after delivering yet another lackluster quarter for Sears, hedge-fund billionaire Eddie S. Lampert compared himself to Eli Manning at the start of the New York Giants' season last fall.


You Wont Read This On The Greenwich Time Website




WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Two related investment funds will pay civil penalties totaling $800,000 to settle charges that they violated premerger reporting requirements, the Department of Justice announced today.


....a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, will settle the charges. Under the terms of the settlement, ESL Partners has agreed to pay $525,000, and ZAM Holdings $275,000, in civil penalties.


ESL Partners, based in Greenwich, Conn., and ZAM Holdings, based in New York City, are investment funds with holdings in numerous companies. The investment decisions for both ESL Partners and ZAM Holdings were made by RBS Partners, of Greenwich.


According to the complaint, ESL Partners and ZAM Holdings failed to comply with the antitrust premerger notification requirements of the HSR Act before acquiring voting securities of AutoZone Inc., based in Memphis, Tenn. ....


Source: U.S. Department of Justice


Related Links: http://www.usdoj.gov/


More Eddie Lampert Watch:


America's Worst CEO


Eddie Lampert was chosen as "America's Worst CEO" for 2007 by Herb Greenberg of MarketWatch.


Don't Let Eddie Manage Your Money:


Losses in 2008


Between September 19 and October 24, 2008, Lampert saw his nine largest equity stakes lose $5 billion. The losses were broken down as follows:$3.6 billion from Sears Holdings, $587 million from Auto Nation, $480 million from AutoZone, $174.7 million from Home Depot and $162.4 million from Citigroup.

Getting To Know Eddie:


A Few References:


"The World's Billionaires", Forbes.com (2007-03-08), p. 8.


Berner, Robert (2004-11-22). "The Next Warren Buffett?" (PDF), BusinessWeek, pp. 144-148;152,154. .


Miller, James P. (2007-03-26). "Sears chief won’t run for AutoNation’s board". Chicago Tribune. "SEC filing". AutoZone, Inc. Retrieved on 2007-04-16.


Berner, Robert (2004-11-22). "The Next Warren Buffett?", BusinessWeek.com.


Alexandra Robbins, Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power, Little, Brown and Company, 2002, page 180


Martin, Patrick (2005-06-09). "Highest Wall Street pay tops $1 billion a year". Retrieved on 2007-04-14.





Forbes: The World's Billionaires editors:Luisa Kroll and Allison Fass (March 8, 2007)




Rosenberg, Yuval, The man behind the deal, CNNMoney.com (November 17, 2004)




Plus There Is The Famous Eddie Lampert Greenwich Kidnapping Story:




It wasn’t the phone call to his wife, the motel bill, or the supposed ransom offer of $5 million that got Eddie Lampert away from his kidnappers… it was the pizza that one of his captors ordered using the billionaire hedge fund manager’s personal credit card.


Most investors dream of amassing fortunes through their investment savvy. But nobody wants to be so talented and wealthy that they become a target for hostage takers. Lampert, the self-made billionaire and founder of ESL Investments - and the man who has outperformed Warren Buffett for 18 years - has this distinction.


Four attackers jumped Lampert on the way to his car at 7:30 p.m. Friday, January 10, 2003. Soon after, he found himself sitting on a motel toilet with his hands and feet bound and his head covered by a cloth hood.


He would remain in this position for the next 39 hours, having his hands released and hood removed only once when his captors gave him some fried chicken to eat.
According to the media’s coverage of the ordeal, Lampert convinced his captors he’d pay them $5 million if they let him go. However, a mistake was made: one of his captors foolishly called in a pizza order using Lampert’s credit card.


Realizing the mistake, Lampert told them their only chance of not getting caught was to simply let him go. After all, he hadn’t seen any of their faces because they were wearing masks. However, if they were caught while he was still a hostage, or worse still, if they harmed him, there would be very serious legal consequences......


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12/15/08 Paul Tudor Jones Wants To Get Back To Basics - How About Giving Ivesdtors Their Money When They Request It.

Inestors Are Saying, "Paul Tudor Jones, Show Me The Money."



Paul Tudor Jones Concedes Errors With Bacon, Griffin in Strategy Shakeout

Bloomberg.com

In the close-knit hedge fund community, where confessions of a mistake are rare, billionaires Louis Bacon, Kenneth Griffin and Paul Tudor Jones are retreating from borrowed-money bets, private equity and emerging market debt and championing more transparent stocks, bonds and currencies.

The three trading prodigies, who have earned annualized returns of more than 20 percent in careers of two decades or more, say they aren’t about to lose the cachet that prevented them from ever being compared to ordinary investors.....

... While record redemptions have helped shrink hedge funds by an estimated 45 percent to $1.1 trillion in the worst year for the industry since 1990, Jones, 54, insists in a Nov. 28 letter to clients that his change of tactics is a necessary adjustment to a period when the leveraged betting is no longer viable.

“Those of you who have visited recently have heard me refer to this return to our roots as back to the future,” he wrote, referring to the macro style of trading stock indexes, bonds, currencies and commodities that he relied on when he began Greenwich, Connecticut-based Tudor Investment Corp. in 1984 at the age of 30. Since starting the BVI Global Fund two years later, he’s more than doubled the average annual return of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. ...

More About Greenwich's Non-Refundable Billionaire

12/12/08 You've Got To Believe That You Are Going To Get Your Money Back

12/02/08 No Wonder That Greenwich Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones Didn't Lift A Finger To Help The Glenville Students In The Stop And Shop Parking Lot


08/09/08 A Paul Tudor Jones Shake Up Will Helps Clean Up Some Balance Sheets

08/04/08 A New School And One Laptop Per Child - Glenville PTA Leaders Should Go Up To 1275 King Street And Invite Paul Tudor Jones On A Fishing Trip


07/13/08 Tudor Investments. Founded by Paul Tudor Jones II, the fund was one of the biggest winners in the Black Monday market crash of 1987
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12/15/08 VIDEO: Pyramid schemer Super rich Bernard Madoff Funded the Democrat left with stolen money

Just When You Thought The Madoff Scandal
Could Not Get Any Worse
Local And National Right Wing Nuts
Want To Blame Madoff On Democrats.
I Over Heard A Rumor At Town Hall That Said Madoff's PAC Contributions Might Have Funded Political Commercials
For President Elect Obama
And Greenwich Resident And Senator Elect Jim Himes.
However, I Have Seen Nothing In Print To Confirm This.
It Appears That Local Republican's Are Still A Bit Jealous Of The Out Of State Support Jim Himes Received From Out Of State.

Right winger's are asking, Bernard Madoff:
Where did the money go?
Right winger's are saying that pyramid scheme run by Bernard Madoff has funded the Democrat left for some years,
Right winger's want you to please write to congress and force them to repay the stolen funds!
Greenwich Fairfield And Other Madoff Victims Can Use The Help.

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Right Wing Nut Michael Savage Talks About Bernard Madoff, Haitian Toilets, Blago, & Sluts of Hollywood

12/15/08 Is it possible to teach an old school editors at the Greenwich Citizen, Greenwich Post and the Greenwich Time a few new tricks?


Are Greenwich's Failed Mainstream Newspapers Going To Get Screwed Over By Local Bloggers And Citizen Journalists?

Does Greenwich's two free so-called newspapers and the daily local rag provide any value what-so-ever that can't be replaced by real citizen journalists?

Can Greenwich's fired traditional editors and reporters at "Our Greenwich" really become real citizen journalists like Bill Clark and Chris Fountain?

Why does Greenwich Time managing editor Jim Zorba always play to Hearst Newspaper's multitude of weaknesses.

Clueless Greenwich Time editors need to understand that quality matters and they are not delivering what town residents want.

The Greenwich Time editors are using an old business model that says we will make loads of cash, because we are selling town residents things something they can't easily get elsewhere.

This Greenwich Time strategy worked, back in pre-Internet days. In fact, it did work, which is why the daily newspaper used it.

Even when the Free Weekly newspapers came and gave the Greenwich Time's product away for free, the strategy mostly still worked, because the Greenwich Time delivered daily up to date reports, while the free papers made you wait for a weekly recap of the news.

Once Greenwich residents starting to get their news directly from wire services and foreign papers via the Internet the local rag became an unnecessary middleman.

While the barriers to entry in the local hard-news reporting area are fairly high—there is starting to be some excellent reporting by Greenwich bloggers.

Clueless Greenwich newspaper editors want to define bloggers and citizen journalists as people conducting journalism in their spare time with no institutional.

What the clueless Greenwich newspaper editors are starting to learn is that bloggers are citizen journalists who are often working nearly full-time as reporters with journalistic balls.

Citizen Journalists may not have traditional training, but they are building new institutions in Greenwich that is producing the hard hitting journalism that town residents crave?

For example:

Here at Greenwich Roundup, and at other Greenwich blogs, we are constantly scooping the local newspapers with exclusive or breaking town news stories.

Hard-news reporting—covering the actual facts of all sides of a Greenwich story—remains the "killer app" for our local newspaper.

But clueless Greenwich Time editors like, Jim Zorba are not making proper use of their structural advantages - they constantly publish town press releases with out ever questioning authority.

Greenwich Time editors and reporters are afraid to rock the boat and to let the chips fall where they may. No one reads a Greenwich Time story and goes WOW I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING !!!

Greenwich's well paid full-time journalists in supposedly competing newsrooms are not properly covering our town.

If Greenwich's newspapers truly need to start competing for stories - it is essential to their survival.

Greenwich editors need create journalists with the time and resources and experience to dig into the tough questions. We need journalists to work in teams and in competing newsrooms to goad other journalists along. And these journalists need strong institutions that can stand up to people in political or commercial power when they are pissed off at the coverage they receive.

We don't need mainstream Greenwich editors and reporters afraid to investigate police department abuses.

We don't need a video cameras capturing a weapon being fired in Greenwich high school and timid Greenwich reporters who are afraid to fight to bring it too the public.

We don't need a Greenwich reporter get fired, because of real estate agencies complain.

We don't need car ads being placed before the welfare of a 78 year old Greenwich farmer.

We don't need a $75,000 loss at the Greenwich PTA's being swept under the rug as Greenwich reporters and editors look on totally clueless.

Good journalism will invariably antagonize someone in power in Greenwich. If it doesn't, it probably isn't very good journalism.

The Greenwich Citizen, the Greenwich Post and the Greenwich Time need to stop going along to get along with the Greenwich power structure.

Greenwich Roundup and other bloggers are starting to challenge the local mainstream newspapers, taking advantage of clueless editors who are not pushing their reporters to bring hard-news back on the front page.

The crisis in Greenwich mainstream journalism is due to mismanagement of news gathering process by incompetent editors and executives.

Right now, the Greenwich Citizen, the Greenwich Post and the Greenwich Time are still in a much better position overall to cover actual news than citizen journalists.

They've got the infrastructure, but for the most part their reporters lack training, experience and journalistic balls.

Whatever advantages Greenwich newspapers have is constantly eroding day after day as technology shifts in favor of smaller operations, and as citizen journalists gain experience and audience.

Can the Greenwich Citizen, the Greenwich Post and the Greenwich Time change?

They will if their editors and publishers are half as smart as they think they are —which is to say, they probably are not going to change.

Ex-Greenwich Time Editor Joe Pisani truly believes that he is a gifted journalist, while most town residents think that he and the current crop of local editors are knuckleheads.

Ex-Greenwich Time Editor Joe Pisani and the current local editors want to blame strong institutional pressures to gut journalism.

But the fact is it is their own damn fault that Greenwich residents are fleeing the local newspapers.

The Greenwich commercial news system has failed, and so far there is little indication that it is going to be resurrected in the digital world.

Greenwich news papers need to join local bloggers and citizen journalists who are creating a local media system where the rational is to do damn good journalism and only damn good journalism.
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12/15/08 Greenwich resident Walter Noel's Fairfield Greenwich Group Sent Madoff $7.3 BILLION As Funds Earned Fees (Updated)


Take A Tour Of The Train Wreak, Known As The, FFG


Walter Noel's Fairfield Greenwich Group would have collected about $135 million in fees this year for peddling Bernard Madoff's investing acumen to clients from South America, the Middle East and Asia.


The $7.3 billion Fairfield Sentry Fund invested solely with Madoff, taking a cut of 1 percent of assets and 20 percent of gains, which averaged about 11 percent annually in the past 15 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg


Fairfield Greenwich, which has an office at 2 Soundview Drive in Greenwich, is one of at least 15 hedge-fund firms and private banks, including Tremont Holdings Group Inc. and Banco Santander SA, that earned similar fees for sending customers cash to the 70-year-old money manager.


"It's mind-boggling that people like Tremont and Fairfield Greenwich had been doing this for so long," said Brad Alford, who runs Alpha Capital Management LLC in Atlanta, which helps clients choose hedge funds. "It's the job of these funds of funds to be doing due diligence. That's why they get paid."


Madoff was arrested Dec. 11 after he allegedly confessed to running a giant Ponzi scheme that may have bilked investors of $50 billion. That fraud escaped the notice of Fairfield Greenwich, Tremont and other funds of funds that had at least $17 billion invested with Madoff.


In a Ponzi scheme, returns to early investors are paid with money from later ones, until there isn't enough cash to go around. Madoff's alleged scam unraveled when he received $7 billion in redemption requests that he couldn't meet.Hedge-fund investment adviser Aksia LLC said the managers should have seen red flags, such as Madoff's use of a little-known, three-person auditing firm.


Hedge funds that have disclosed holdings with Madoff were due at least $290 million in fees this year, based on reported assets, fees and Bloomberg data. The calculations don't include fees of as much as 5 percent that clients paid for some funds when they first invested. Madoff didn't assess fees for his money-management services, getting paid instead through commissions from his brokerage business for trading the stocks in the accounts.


Fairfield Greenwich is the biggest loser to emerge so far from the Madoff scandal. It had more than half its $14.1 billion in assets with him, according to a company statement


"We are shocked and appalled by the news," said founding partner Jeffrey Tucker in a Dec. 12 statement. Tucker was an attorney in the enforcement division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission before starting Fairfield Greenwich with Noel in 1983. Thomas Mulligan, a spokesman for Fairfield Greenwich, declined to comment.


Noel built a marketing machine that covered the globe. His son-in-law, Yanko Della Schiava, is based in Lugano, Switzerland, and is responsible for selling Fairfield Greenwich funds in Southern Europe, according to the firm's Web site.


Another son-in-law, Andres Piedrahita, is head of Fairfield Greenwich's European and Latin American businesses and is based in London and Madrid. A third son-in-law, Philip Toub, markets the group's funds in Brazil and the Middle East.


Three months ago, the firm acquired Banque Benedict Hentsch, a deal that the Swiss private bank is trying to reverse, according to a report in the Geneva newspaper Le Temps.


Banque Benedict Hentsch, a Swiss private bank, said it has bought back its entire capital and ended a partnership with Fairfield Greenwich Group following the massive securities fraud by Madoff.


Tremont, founded by Sandra Manzke in 1985, also was an early Madoff investor. The Rye, N.Y.-based firm, a unit of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.'s OppenheimerFunds Inc., has yet to disclose how much money it had invested with Madoff.


It sold Madoff-managed investments since 1997 under the Rye Select Broad Market name, charging 2 percent of assets, according to a marketing document. Monteith Illingworth, a spokesman for the firm, declined to comment.


Manzke now runs Darien-based MAXAM Capital Management LLC, which marketed a $280 million fund that was invested solely with Madoff. Manzke told the Wall Street Journal she was wiped out. Manzke didn't return calls or e- mails.


Worldwide Web


Investors ensnared by Madoff include Fred Wilpon, the owner of the New York Mets baseball team, clients of private bankers in Geneva, wealthy Jewish families in New York and Palm Beach, Florida, and institutions including BNP Paribas SA in Paris that loaned investors money to increase their bets. Losses have been reported by a pension fund in Fairfield, New York hospitals and a charity in Salem, Mass.


While Madoff didn't run a hedge fund, his alleged crime may accelerate investor defections from the $1.5 trillion industry, already hit by its worst losses since at least 1990 and redemptions that may reach $400 billion this year, according to estimates by Morgan Stanley.


In the Middle


Funds of hedge funds such as Fairfield Greenwich act as middlemen, raising money from investors and farming it out to other managers that they vet. The go-betweens manage 44 percent of hedge-fund assets, according to data compiled by Hedge Fund Research Inc. Their investments lost 19 percent on average through November, a little more than a percentage point more than single-manager funds, the Chicago-based firm says.


Institutions including New York State's $154 billion retirement system and the endowment of Baylor University have been cutting back their investments in funds of funds to save the extra layer of fees generally 1 percent of assets and 10 percent of profits that they charge on top of the underlying managers take.


Last year, for the first time, more than half of the hedge-fund assets of the 200 largest U.S. pension plans were invested directly with individual managers, according to data compiled by Pensions & Investments magazine. Funds of funds say they earn their fees by discovering the best managers and assembling a diversified group of investments. They also are supposed to conduct ongoing due diligence to avoid frauds or other dangers, such as managers straying from their core investment strategy.


Swiss Connection


Another Madoff investor is London-based FIM Ltd., whose Kingate Europe and Kingate Global funds had about $3.5 billion in assets as of the end of November, according to reports sent to clients. The firm, run by Carlo Grosso, marketed the funds to many wealthy Italian families. Kingate collected a 5 percent fee to get into the funds and a management fee of 1.5 percent of assets.


Access International Advisors LLC, a New York-based investment firm, charged a 5 percent fee up front, a 0.8 percent management fee and a 16 percent performance fee on its LUXALPHA SICAV-American Selection fund, according to Bloomberg data.


Spain's largest bank, Banco Santander, said its clients invested with Madoff through its Optimal Strategic U.S. Equity fund. Those investors paid 2.15 percent of assets in fees.


Swiss private banks also sent money to Madoff. Union Bancaire Privee, the largest investor in hedge funds, had a managed account called M-Invest that was a direct conduit into Madoff, people familiar with the situation said. Benbassat & Cie, another Swiss bank, had $935 million invested in Madoff on behalf of clients, according to Le Temps.


Warning Signs


When Aksia researched Madoff last year, it learned the firm's books were audited by accountants Friehling & Horowitz, operating out of a 13-by-18 foot location in an office park in New York City's northern suburbs. One partner, in his late 70s, lives in Florida. The other employees are a secretary, and one active accountant, Aksia said.


"Other details that made Askia nervous included the high degree of secrecy surrounding the trading of the feeder fund accounts, which provided capital to Madoff Securities, and its use of a trading strategy that appeared remarkably simple, yet could not be nearly replicated by our quant analyst," Aksia wrote in a Dec. 11 letter to its clients.


Source: Bloomberg.com News


MORE ON WALTER NOEL:


Walter Noel, a Founding Partner of Fairfield Greenwich Group in 1983, continues with his long-time partners, Jeffrey Tucker and Andres Piedrahita, to oversee all of the firm's activities. He is a member of FGG's Board of Directors, serves as a Director for many FGG funds and management company entities, and has focused on marketing and the client side of the business.


Prior to FGG, he was a Senior Vice President for seven years at Chemical Bank where he headed the International Private Banking Department. He worked as a Vice President in a similar area at Citibank from 1974 to 1977. He began his international private banking career as President from 1972 to 1974 of Bahag Banking, Lausanne, Switzerland.


Earlier, for twelve years, Mr. Noel was a consultant in the Management Services Division of Arthur D. Little, Inc. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vanderbilt University in 1952, a Master of Arts in Economics from the Harvard Graduate School in 1953, and an LL.B from the Harvard Law School in 1959. He is based in the Greenwich office.



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12/15/08 U.S. Supreme Court Tells Greenwich Resident: "Forget About It"


You Wont Read This On The Greenwich Time's

So-Called "News Website"



SF Gate

... to Barack Obama's eligibility to serve as president because of his citizenship. The appeal by Cort Wrotnowski of Greenwich, Conn., was denied Monday without comment. Wrotnowski argued that Obama was a British subject at birth and therefore cannot ...


PLEASE SEE:




UPDATE:
BEHIND THE TIMES;
THE GRENWICH TIME FINALY DECIDES TO
COVER A STORY THAT
GREENWICH DIVA AND GREENWICH ROUNDUP
HAVE BEEN COVERING FOR DAYS
U.S. Supreme Court rejects Greenwich man's Obama challenge

Legal challenge questions Obama's citizenship

Wire report

The Associated Press


Posted: 12/15/2008 06:06:30 PM EST


WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court has turned down another challenge to Barack Obama's eligibility to serve as president because of his citizenship.

The appeal by Cort Wrotnowski of Greenwich, Conn., was denied Monday without comment.
Wrotnowski argued that Obama was a British subject at birth and therefore cannot meet the requirement for becoming president.

He wanted the high court to halt presidential electors from meeting to formally elect Obama as president......

....Hawaii Health Department Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino and the state's registrar of vital statistics, Alvin Onaka, say they checked health department records and have determined there's no doubt Obama was born in Hawaii.

The nonpartisan Web site Factcheck.org examined the original document and said it does have a raised seal and the usual evidence of a genuine document.

In addition, Factcheck.org reproduced an announcement of Obama's birth, including his parents' address in Honolulu, that was published in the Honolulu Advertiser on Aug. 13, 1961

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12/15/08 Greenwich Time News Links For Monday (Updated)


Nola Taylor, dressed as Sarah Bush,


adjusts candles at the Bush-Holley House candle light open house.


(Helen Neafsey/Greenwich Time photo)



Families celebrate season at Bush-Holley


Dozens of residents celebrated the holiday seasons Sunday with a history lesson. Families got to take interactive tours of the Bush-Holley Historic Site in Cos Cob, where costumed guides spoke about how the late residents of the historic home celebrated the holidays Sunday evening.


Budget cuts being proposed by the state's school board could wipe out more than $3.4 million in municipal aid to Greenwich, state officials say.

Greenwich Police still waiting for ruling

When the town sought an expedited appeal in the case of a Greenwich police officer who sued after he was not promoted to captain, many thought a speedy decision would soon follow, bringing closure to a case that has frozen the police department's ability to fill several key positions for nearly four years.



It's been repeatedly noted during these tough economic times that declining fuel prices have been the bright spot - though the tough times are largely what caused the recent steep decline. That bright spot last week was focused on the state's Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, where overseas commercial flights are being resumed now that jet fuel prices have fallen. That can be good for the state economy in the short and long terms.


Gov. M. Jodi Rell made it official last Tuesday, announcing that Northwest Airlines is going to restore its direct service from Bradley to Amsterdam this coming June. Plans are for five flights a week by 160-seat Boeing 757-200 jets.


State officials said they and western Massachusetts representatives made a strong push for resumption of the service that was halted in October. They had good reason. It was estimated that the service produces tens of millions of dollars in direct and indirect benefits to the region. The convenience it will provide to international travelers is also a major plus, especially since Amsterdam is a busy hub. The service will be operated in cooperation with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, which provides connections to 81 cities in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India.


..... Blah .... Blah ..... Blah ..... Blah ..... Blah ..... Blah ...... Blah ..... Blah .......


PLEASE NOTE:


The Greenwich Time Web master could not be bothered with putting up a letter to the editor today. Maybe the Greenwich Time editor did not get any letters all weekend long.


UPDATE:


The Greenwich Time Has Added A Bunch Of New Stories Today:


Greenwich Time Reporters Feel The Heat


Somebody Has Lit A Fire Under A Few

Reporter's Rear Ends


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Posted: 12/15/2008 01:28:38 PM EST


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Deputy Superintendent of Schools Kathy Greider will step down as the school chief's second-in-command in May to take a position as superintendent of the Farmington school system, district officials said today.


Greider, who was hired in 2007 to serve as deputy to the town's outgoing school's leader, Betty Sternberg, cited a desire to advance in her career and be closer to her family as her chief reasons for leaving Greenwich.


Ellen Flanagan, the district's director of human resources who has spearheaded an effort to implement a retooled teacher-evaluation system, will take the deputy position upon Greider's departure


May 18, 2009.Greider temporarily assumed the superintendent's post for two months over the summer after Sternberg took a medical leave of absence in mid-July to treat an undisclosed health condition.


Greider also helped establish the "breakthrough coaching" program, which teaches principals and their administrative staff how to balance office duties in order to allow principals to spend more time with teachers.


"My time in Greenwich has been extremely rewarding, working with some of the most talented and dedicated professionals in education today," Greider said in a prepared statement.


"I leave Greenwich having gained so much both personally and professionally," she continued, "and hold fond memories of my interactions with the board, staff, students, parents and members of the community."



Debra Friedman / Staff Writer


Posted: 12/15/2008 02:01:26 PM EST


A woman crashed her car into a house on Louden Street in Byram this morning, but escaped without serious injuries, police said.


At about 10:45 a.m., Greenwich police, fire fighters and emergency medical personnel responded to the scene at 2 Louden St. to find a car that had smashed through a house's garage door and into a wall that connected to a basement. The house was located just off the exit 2 ramp on Interstate 95 South, which was closed for approximately 30 minutes during the aftermath of the accident......


.....Police said the driver, who has not been identified, told officers at the scene that her brakes failed. However, Cochran said police were investigating whether she may have pressed the wrong pedal when coming to a stop sign at the end of the off ramp.


The homeowners, who were not home at the time of the accident, were notified by police shortly after the collision and arrived to the scene around noon to assess the damage.



gap widens


By Neil Vigdor / Staff Writer


Posted: 12/14/2008 02:34:07 AM EST


A projected $10.5 million gap in the town budget is widening to proportions that officials have never seen before in what has arguably been Connecticut's most prosperous town.


"We went through how big the problem could be. It's $31 million over the next 18 months," said Roland Gieger, the town's budget director.


Budget officials are predicting an $8.5 million shortfall in revenues from conveyance tax receipts, the sale of building permits and bank interest in the current fiscal year, which has six months to go, and a $6 million shortfall in 2008-09.


That comes on top of the anticipated $10.5 million gap, which has been bandied about since early this fall and has been attributed to rising personnel costs and shrinking revenues.


The architects of the town's projected $364 million budget will also have to make up another $6 million, which they had hoped to have left over in the General Fund balance at the end of the current fiscal year to help pare down the tax rate and pay for unanticipated expenses.


Property owners could face a spike in property taxes in excess of the customary 2 to 4 percent annual increase sought by the town if the gap isn't closed, town officials said.


"It's a significant fiscal challenge and one that requires making difficult decisions, which I'm certainly ready to do. It's a matter of prioritization," First Selectman Peter Tesei said.


In a Nov. 26 memo to municipal department heads and the town's appointing authorities Tesei called for an across-the-board 10 percent minimum reduction in non-salary town expenditures, a clamp-down on employee travel and a hiring freeze for all positions but a few positions in police, fire and other essential areas.


Tesei also wants to limit overtime, saying it should be reserved for when public safety warrants it or a potential liability emerges. All overtime requests are to be vetted by Tesei's office.


"We're looking at everything," Tesei said......



By Neil Vigdor / Staff Writer


Posted: 12/13/2008 02:37:35 AM EST


The words bargain and Greenwich don't often go together.


But when it comes to how much commuters are charged to park in municipal railroad lots, some bureaucrats argue that the town is short-changing itself.


An analysis by the town's parking services department shows that Stamford, Norwalk, Bridgeport, New Haven and Port Chester, N.Y., all charge more than Greenwich on an annual basis for railroad parking.


The city of Stamford charges a yearly rate of $1,008, more than double the cost of the most expensive permit available in Greenwich - $465 at Greenwich Plaza - which some elected officials said explains why there are lengthy waiting lists for spaces in town.


The rates would go up by 5 percent next year under a proposal by town Parking Services Director Allen Corry, who recently told the Board of Selectmen that he was sensitive to residents feeling the pinch of the current recession and didn't want to pass on too big of an increase.


But Selectman Peter Crumbine, who has often argued that the town charges below-market value for coveted amenities such as parking spaces and boat slips, wasn't as sympathetic.


"The economy affects the town, too," Crumbine said at Thursday's selectmen's meeting. "What's going on here?"


Crumbine made a counterproposal of a 10 percent hike to the board, which is scheduled to vote on the parking fees Friday at Town Hall.


Leslie Tarkington, a Board of Estimate and Taxation member and permit holder at Greenwich Plaza, where spots are coveted, called on Corry to better publicize the plan and share with selectmen several years of financial data from the railroad parking operation.


During the last four years alone, Tarkington said, the cost of the parking permits has gone up 33 percent. At the same time, she said the garage complex could use improvements, including additional police patrols at night.......


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