Greenwich Roundup: Thursday, March 26, 2009

Thursday, March 26, 2009

03/26/09 Greenwich Roundup Is Having Problems Getting Posts Up.

WEBSITE PROBLEMS:

Articles Are Written At Blogger They Are Automatically Saved.

However, When Greenwich Roundup Hits The Publish Button He Is Taken To An Error Page.

Posts Without Pictures Have A Better Chance Of Publishing.

Please Check Back There Are Many Articles At Greenwich Roundup That Are In Draft Form, But Can Not Be Published Right Now.

Maybe, Greenwich Roundup Will Remove The Pictures And Try To Publish Text Only Articles For A While.

Blogger Has Informed That They Will Be Shutting Down The Service For Maintenance In A Few Hours. Perhaps This Will Clear Up The Posting Problem.

Scheduled outage at 4:00PM PDT on Thursday (3/26).

================================================================
Please send your comments, news tips, press releases and web site suggestions to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com or click on the comments link at the end of this post.

03/26/09 Philip K. Howard Wants To Do Away With Silly Lawsuits, Sue Him Before He Succeeds !!!!

Life without lawyer jokes

Time Out New York

Get your dose of common sense tonight as lawyer Philip K. Howard discusses his new book, Life Without Lawyers at The New-York Historical Society. Howard’s book criticizes, pretty fairly really, the impact of a litigious culture on our schools and our health-care system, and even the impact of being legally self-conscious on our actions. What would have happened if Captain Sullenberger had considered the legal implications before acting? (We would have probably never got to appreciate his fine, upstanding mustache for one.)

As sensible as this all sounds, we’re still not sure if we’re ready to live in a world without ridiculous lawsuits and the comical bureaucracy they spawn. After the jump, the best examples from Howard’s book

1. A Washington judge sued a dry cleaners for $54 million after losing his (not diamond-encrusted) pants. He is still appealing the case two years later.

2. A jury awarded $6 million to someone who had broken his leg on the sledding hill in Greenwich, Connecticut, causing nearby towns to forbid people from sledding on town property (those killjoys).

3. In 2005, a girl in kindergarten in St. Petersburg, Florida, went on a “rampage”, trashing a classroom. Since teachers were wary of placing a hand on a child, police led her away in handcuffs.

4. A five-inch fishing lure, with a three-pronged hook, now comes with the following legend on its side: “Harmful if swallowed.”

5. A music teacher was accused of misconduct after positioning a child’s fingers on a flute (the monster—we hated music lessons too).

6. A letter opener, which wasn’t a mini chain saw, included the missive “Caution: Safety Goggles Recommended.”

The talk starts at 6:30pm and costs $15, or costs N-YHS a lot more if you inadvertently lose your pants/break your leg sledding/swallow a fishing lure/poke yourself in the eye with a letter opener.

03/26/09Once Again Greenwich Time Editor Bruce Hunter Is Late To The Party And His Niave Reporter Gets The Story Wrong

Good Ole Honest Abe Had It Right

At Was Abraham Lincoln who said....

"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.'

Hats off, as they would say in Honest Abe's time, to the out of town newspapers and bloggers who were not so easily fooled like the Greenwich Time amateurish news team

Compare And Contrast The Green Kitty Litter Liner's Reporting With That Of Out Of Town Newspapers And Bloggers

If You Want To Know What Is Really Going On In And Around Greenwich, Then You Have To Read The Out Of Town Newspapers, As Well As, Local And National Blogs.

AIG resignation hits close to home

By Susan Tuz
STAFF WRITER

REDDING -- Former Greenwich resident Jake DeSantis' resignation from a job with AIG Financial Products unit Wednesday came as no surprise to those who knew him....

...DeSantis is known for being civic-minded in the town. On arriving in Redding, he joined The League of Women Voters. However, his membership is no longer active, according to Jane Ross, president of the league.....

....In the open letter to Liddy, DeSantis rails against the unfair way in which he and other AIG executives have been vilified and about Liddy not supporting them before Congress, the Connecticut and New York attorneys general and the press.....

.....He said he will donate his retention payment from AIG of $746,006 after taxes to "organizations that are helping people who are suffering from the global downturn." ..... Blah .... Blah .... Blah ..... Blah ..... Blah ..... Blah ..... Blah ...... Blah ..... Blah ....... Boring And Ill Informed .....

If You Want To Know Whats Really

Going On You Have To Skip The Greenwich Time

And Read The Out Of Town Newspapers

03/26/09 Former Greenwich Resident Fake Jake DeSantist: "I didn't do nothin' .... Besides I deserve All That Cash ......"

Waaaaaa! AIG Brat Jason DeSantis whines and resigns

New York Daily News

....An AIG exec who got a payout of over $1 million quit his job Wednesday in a huffy public letter that was meant to generate sympathy - but instead landed like a lead balloon....

...."I am disappointed and frustrated over your lack of support for us," he wrote. "You didn't defend us against the baseless and reckless comments made by the attorneys general of New York and Connecticut."....

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal wasn't moved. He pointed out that DeSantis glossed over a key fact: Without a massive taxpayer bailout, AIG would have collapsed months ago.

"His company and his contract and his bonus would simply be nonexistent without the taxpayer, and that critical fact is ignored," Blumenthal said.

The letter caused a big ruckus online, where many branded it more unseemly whining from an entitled fat cat who still doesn't understand the pain financiers have wrought.

"Cry me a river," read one typical comment.

Adding insult to injury, DeSantis said he didn't need the money, acknowledged that he was overpaid, and said that he was taking his bonus - "$742,006.40 after taxes" - and giving it to charity instead of back to AIG, as Blumenthal and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo have demanded.

"I at least deserve to dictate how my earnings are spent, and do not want to see them disappear back into the obscurity of AIG's or the federal government's budget," he wrote.

He did not mention that since AIG is now 80% owned by the taxpayer, returning his bonus would have returned it to the taxpayer.

"I commend his motivation in wanting to help people who have been harmed by the economic downturn, but this is taxpayer money," Blumenthal said.....

ALSO:

If You Want To Know Whats Really
Going On You Have To Skip The Greenwich Time
And Read The Local Citizen Journalists And Bloggers

03/24/09 UNETHICAL BEHAVIOUR: Former Greenwich Resident And AIG Bum "Fake Jake" DeSantis Tries To Buck Efforts to Give Back Bonus Pay

......The Arrogant Little AIG SOB That Refuses To Give Back
His Neighbors Hard Earned Tax Dollars.......

I take this action after 11 years of dedicated, honorable service to A.I.G. I can no longer effectively perform my duties in this dysfunctional environment.......

..... Even Though Cry Baby Jake DeSantis Refuses To Ask For Forgiveness For Stealing From All Of His Neighbors .....

"Fake Jake" Desantis Still Wants Everyone To Love And Feel Sorry For Him:....

As most of us have done nothing wrong, guilt is not a motivation to surrender our earnings. We have worked 12 long months under these contracts and now deserve to be paid as promised. None of us should be cheated of our payments.....

Be Sure To Read Bonus Bum"Fake Jake" DeSantis' Fine Print:

....On March 16 I received a payment from A.I.G. amounting to $742,006.40, after taxes ......
(Jake DeSantis Is Such An Unethical AIG Bum That He Has Obviously Visited An Accountant To Calculate The Amount Of Taxes To The Penny. DeSantis Is Such A Greedy SOB He Couldn't Add $933.40 Of His Own Money To Make The Taxpayer Funded Package An Even $743,000)

....In light of the uncertainty over the ultimate taxation and legal status of this payment, the actual amount I donate may be less...... (Greedy Con Artist Jake DeSantis Really Has Hug Balls. This AIG Scamster Says I Am Going To Act Like A Big Shot Donating Your Tax Dollars, But If He Miscalculated The Tax Ramifications ..... He Is Going To Use Your Tax Dollars To Pay Any Additional Tax Liability That He May Incur. As Leona Hemsley Said,"Only The Little People Pay Taxes.")

.....This choice is right for me. I wish others at A.I.G.-F.P. luck finding peace with their difficult decision, and only hope their judgment is not clouded by fear......

WHAT AIG BONUS BUM "FAKE JAKE" DESANTIS WONT TELL YOU IS......

That he and the other AIG Bums decided to accelerate by three months more than a quarter of the amounts due under the contracts. That action probably net him $250,000.00 in taxpayer money and allowed him to stash $185, 501.60 after taxes in the bank......

.....Here Is How The Jake DeSantis Ponzie Scheme Will Probably Work:

First AIG Bum "Fake Jake" DeSantis Will Use Over $250,000.00 Of Your Tax Dollars To Pay His Tax Bill. Then He Will Claim Huge Tax Deductions For Donating $742,006.40 Of Your Tax Dollars To Help Those "Who Are Suffering From The Global Downturn".

Greedy " Fake Jake" DeSantis Will Then Be Able To Carry The The Taxpayer Funded Deduction Forward Three Years, Thus Allowing Him To Pay Virtually No Taxes.

The $742,006.40 Of Mr. Desantists' Neighbors Tax Dollars Will Need To Go Into A Financial Vehicle Like A Private Foundation To Distribute The Tax Dollars.

Of Coarse, There Will Be Expences Involved With Distributing Your Tax Dollars So Greedy "Fake Jake" Desantis Will Have To Be Compensated. Desantis May Even Need To Hire Friends And Family Members To Help Disburse Your Tax Dollars To Help Those "Who Are Suffering From The Global Downturn".

Then There Is Greedy Jake Desantis Mission Of Distributing Your Hard Earned Tax Dollars To Help Those "Who Are Suffering From The Global Downturn".

This Mission Statement Includes Virtually Everybody In The World .... Greedy Jake Desantis' Laws .... Greedy "Fake Jake" Desantis' Golfing Buddy ...... Greedy Jake Desantis' Business Associates ..... Etc.....

You Will Notice That Greedy "Fake Jake" Desantis' Wont Say I Am Giving Your Tax Dollars To Underprivileged Children.

You Will Notice That Greedy "Fake Jake" Desantis' Wont Say I Am Giving Your Tax Dollars To Pay The Medical Bills Of Uninsured Families.

You Will Notice That Greedy "Fake Jake" Desantis' Wont Say I Am Giving Your Tax Dollars To Senior Citizens In Danger Of Losing Their Homes

All Of The Above Mentioned , Charitable Mission Statements Would Be To Narrowly Focus And Make It Too Hard To Abuse

MOREOVER:

Fake Jake DeSantist Wont Tell You ThatThe Other AIG Shoe Has Not Dropped Yet.....

WHY ISN'T ANYONE LISTENING TO GREENWICH ROUNDUP

THIS WAS ONLY THE FIRST ROUNDOF BONUS PAYMENTS TO THE AIG FAT CATSLIKE "FAKE JAKE" DESANTIS

THE CLOCK IS TICKING ON A SECOND TAXPAYER FUNDEDAIG BONUS PAYMENT TO "FAKE JAKE" DESANTIS

The AIG Employee Retention Plan Has Two ComponentsThere Are Two Sets Of Bonus Payments

There Are Two Sets Of Bonus Payments
For "Fake Jake" Desantis And The Other AIG Pirates

This Was Only The First Bonus And Covers December 01, 2007 To November 30, 2008 That Was To Be Paid No Later Than March 15th of 2009.

And As We Read Above ..... The Greedy AIG SOB's Like "Fake Jake" Desantis Couldn't Wait Till March 15, 2009 So They Accelerated 25% Of The Bonus To Be Paid Last December.

Most People Don't Realize ThatThe Clock Is Already Ticking On ASecond Round Of Bonus Payments For"Fake Jake DeSantis And The Other AIG Pirates:

The Is Second Bonus Payments Cover December 01, 2008 To November 30, 2009 That Was To Be Paid No Later Than March 15th of 2010.

MORE ON THAT ECELERATEDDECEMBER BONUS PAYMENT:

03/21/09 SUPRISE AIG LIED:Greenwich Resident Richard Blumenthal Says AIG Paid It's Fat Cat Pirates $218 Million In Bonuses !!!!!

PLEASE ALSO SEE:

03/20/09 Fat Cats In The Backcoutry Of Greenwich Watch In Horror As Fellow Town Resident Richard Blumenthal Sends Out Subpoena To AIG Bonus Bums

03/20/09 READER SUBMITTED COMMENTS: Hatred palooza 2009 on Sat AM for AIG FPG execs.

03/20/09 New York Post's Jackpot Jimmy Cries Like A Baby As He Gives Back His AIG Multi Million Pirate Booty Back To The Taxpayers

03/18/09 The Jack Pot Jimmys Of The Greenwich Backcountry Are Shaking In Terror As The New York Post Shows Up In New Canaan And Fairfield

The Fact Is That "Fake Jake's" Desantis' AIG Retintion Contract Would Not Have Been Worth The Paper It Was Written On If His Nieghbor's Hard Earned Tax Dollars Had Not Been Stolen

UPDATE:

Why I Have No Sympathy for Jake DeSantis
Huffington Post

Mitchell Bard

On Tuesday the New York Times ran on its op-ed page the resignation letter written by Jake DeSantis, a vice president of AIG's infamous financial products ...

....I am not the least bit moved by DeSantis's point of view, because over the last several years, he has tremendously profited from a larger financial culture that is completely out of whack. Those working in the financial industry made untold sums of money from a bubble that was bound to burst, and they did so in an environment that rewarded risk with no consequences for failure......

.....In other words, DeSantis has become wealthy beyond his wildest dreams, with no worries about money for the rest of his life, at the expense of most Americans and the financial system as a whole, all by taking advantage of a set of rules that skewed in his favor. He profited from an industry that rejected decades of regulations and took crazy risks that a bubble could be sustained against all logic to the contrary, and that firm's could leverage themselves at unhealthy levels with no consequences. And now that some semblance of order is trying to be applied to the financial industry, with the bill being footed in billions of dollars by the American people, he has the audacity to complain that he is being treated unfairly? It's like someone finding a hole in the side of a bank vault and stopping by once a year to take millions of dollars from the structure, only to complain on the 15th trip when the hole has been sealed up......

.....My point in listing DeSantis's bloated salary isn't, as my friends on the right will probably immediately accuse me of doing, an effort to attack wealth or wealth creation. Rather, my quarrel with DeSantis's letter is that it represents an unwillingness to confront the culture that not only caused the current financial collapse, but that will prevent true recovery if it's not addressed.....

.....You would think that those who created this mess would have some humility. But you would be wrong. DeSantis's letter is just one example. In a front-page New York Times article on Monday discussing the administration's attempts to get private equity firms and hedge funds to buy into Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner's new plan to purchase toxic assets from banks, the chief executive of a "major investment firm" is quoted as saying

"The deal is good, but it's not worth it if I'm buying myself into a retroactive tax or a Congressional hearing."

The article notes that

"some executives at private equity firms and hedge funds, who were briefed on the plan Sunday afternoon, are anxious about the recent uproar over millions of dollars in bonus payments made to executives of (AIG)."

When I read observations like these, I just cannot believe that these people are so blind as to what has happened to the financial industry in the last six months. I know these individuals profited from a bubble, but apparently they are also living in one.....

.....A plan to rescue the banks without addressing and changing the compensation culture on Wall Street is like treating a cancer patient's symptoms without eradicating the tumors. The relief will be only temporary......

.....If DeSantis doesn't want to be a part of the solution, if he wants to hold onto a system in which it is reasonable to pay him (and, presumably, many others) $742,006.40 after taxes, by a company accepting hundreds of billions from the federal government, I can only come to the conclusion that he doesn't understand where we need to go. He is part of the problem, not the solution. Good riddance to him, and let the door hit him on the butt on the way out. DeSantis may have a valid contract, but it's a product of a corrupt system. And it's time for the system to change, if we truly want to rebuild the nation's financial institutions and economy.

The apocalyptic rich
Baltimore Sun

The next day, that long whine by AIG executive Jake DeSantis appeared on the Times' op-ed page, proving my point. This fool is completely oblivious to the fact that he wouldn't be in position to earn a million-dollar bonus were it not for taxpayers. And if he deigns to send it anywhere, in his attempt at martyrdom, DeSantis's $742,006.40, after taxes, should come right back to the U.S. Treasury.

Some at AIG Buck Efforts to Give Back Bonus Pay

Wall Street Journal

....Wednesday, employees at the insurer gave a standing ovation for Jake DeSantis, an executive in AIG's financial-products division, who was the first to publicly refuse to return his retention bonus despite an outcry over the payments.

Joining in the ovation was Gerry Pasciucco, attendees said. Mr. Pasciucco heads the division that had $40 billion in losses last year that nearly sank AIG and triggered the government rescue. About five employees of the unit quit Wednesday, said a person familiar with the matter.......

.....In recent days, employees have huddled in small groups in conference rooms off the division's main trading floor in Wilton, Conn., debating what to do.....

........One employee said he had instructed his wife to call the police in the event his identity became known and a news truck appeared at his home.....

AIG Exec Whines About Public Anger, and Now We're Supposed to Pity Him? Yeah, Right ...

AlterNet

AIG exec Jake DeSantis' NY Times letter asking for us to chill out about his poor overworked employees is a sick joke.....

....AIGFP only had 377 employees. Those 400-odd folks received almost $3.5 billion in compensation in the last seven years, a very large part of that money coming from the sale of credit default protection. Doing the math, that averages out to over $9 million of compensation per person.

Ask yourself this question: If your company made that much money, and the boss of the unit made almost $280 million in just a few years, exactly how likely is it that you wouldn't know where that money was coming from?

Are we supposed to believe that Jake DeSantis knew nothing about Joe Cassano's CDS deals? If your boss and the top guys in your firm were all making a killing selling anything at all -- whether it was rubber kayaks, generic Levitra or credit default swaps -- you really wouldn't bother to find out what that thing they were selling was? You'd really just mind your own business, sit at your cubicle and put your faith in the guys up top to fill you in if there was something you needed to know?.....

.....But all of this is really secondary to the tone of DeSantis' letter. He acts like he's a victim because he didn't get to keep his after-tax bonus of $742,006.40 in the middle of a global depression. And he really loses his fucking mind when he writes:

"None of us should be cheated of our payments any more than a plumber should be cheated after he has fixed the pipes but a careless electrician causes a fire that burns down the house."

First of all, Jake, you asshole, no plumber in the world gets paid a $740,000 bonus, over and above his salary, just to keep plumbing. Second, try living on a plumber's salary before you even think about comparing yourself to one; you're inviting a pitchfork in the gut by even thinking along those lines. Third, Jake, if you were a plumber, and the electrician burned the house down -- well, guess what? If you and that electrician worked for the same company, you actually wouldn't get paid for that job.

Out in the real world, when your company burns a house down, you're not getting paid by that client. It's only on Wall Street, where the every-man-for-himself ethos is built into an insanely selfish and greed-addled compensation system, that people like you expect to get paid in a bubble -- only there do people expect their performance bonuses no matter how much money the shareholders lose overall, no matter how many people get laid off after the hostile takeover, no matter how ill-considered the mortgages lent out by your division were.

You expect that money because you think it's owed to you. But what money? The money is gone. Your boss, if not you, set it all afire. You want the money, but where exactly do you think it's coming from?

Do you just not understand that that money now would have to come out of someone else's pocket? That it would have to come from middle-class taxpayers, real plumbers, people who didn't make millions over the years in equity and commodity trading?.....

.....Only a person with a habitually overinflated sense of self-worth could think he deserves a $700,000 retention bonus, even if it has to be paid by taxpayers....

.....Hey Jake, it's not like you were curing cancer. You were a f**king commodities trader. Thanks to a completely insane, horribly skewed set of societal values that puts a premium on greed and severely undervalues selflessness, communal spirit and intellectualism -- values that make millionaires out of people like you and leave teachers and nurses, the people who raise your kids and clean your parents' bedpans, comparatively penniless .

Good for you. Consider yourself lucky. But your company went belly-up and broke, almost certainly thanks in part to you, and now you don't get your bonus.

So be a man and deal with it. The rest of us do, when we get bad breaks, and we've had a lot more of them than you. And stop whining......

John Walker Lindh presents Enemy Combatant t-shirt to Jake ...

TPMCafé

In a moving ceremony today, John Walker Lindh, the "American Taliban" convicted of treason in the wake of the Sept. 11 disaster and resulting war with Afghanistan, handed off the "enemy combatant" t-shirt he has worn for the past eight years to Jake DeSantis, a former employee of AIG Corporation who has refused to return his negotiated compensation, controversially dubbed a "bonus," to American taxpayers, electing to donate the money instead.

"Man, it's weird," opined Lindh in his remarks prior to the presentation. "One day, you're just a feckless kid from Marin County, or an egghead from MIT in Jake's case, out in the world doing what you more or less believe in. The next day history catches up with you and you're in the bright lights with everybody calling you a traitor. I can't say the last eight years have been great for me or that I don't kind of want to scream 'Your turn, asshole!' to Jake. I mean, guys like him are exactly the guys I was trying to fight against. But wearing this Enemy Combatant t-shirt isn't easy, and on a human level I hope he doesn't end up dead or spending 20 years in prison. I'm pretty sure he has more friends in high places than I did, so it doesn't seem likely."

DeSantis, after accepting the Enemy Combatant t-shirt, said only "I bet all you Liberal freaks are thinking 'Hey, what goes around comes around.' I told you I'm giving the money to charity, just like Jesus would have. Now either crucify me or get off my effing back."

No elected officials have yet commented on the event.

A Response to AIG’s Jake DeSantis - Victim

Wrecking Ball Report (satire)

AIG’s Jake DeSantis is a self-righteous wealthy person who likes to remind us how hard he works. This reminds us of numerous Hollywood stereotypes designed to make us dislike various wealthy characters so we can root for the plucky young working class hero.

And that makes us really hate Hollywood for getting inside our heads, because although his guest Op-Ed in the New York Times made us throw up our leftover Mac and Cheese.....

....DeSantis is quitting his job at AIG and giving whatever part of his bonus he has left after (possibly massive) taxes to charity. Sounds noble enough, but there’s a catch:

Jake Desantis wants us to see him as a victim, perhaps even feel sorry for him......

....The pledge to donate to charity - nice, we like it. Tough not to see it as a clever play for positive PR in a world that’s ready to throw you to the wolves, while we all play the part of the wolves ....

....But here’s the thing - that shit is really happening. There are fucking tent cities springing up in California, dude. And it isn’t to film a Slumdog Millionaire sequel. These are your countrymen in this day and age, unemployed and homeless, many through no fault of their own. Now, if you want to see yourself as blameless, that’s your right. Maybe you are. But you are an executive for AIG’s Financial Products division - whether or not the paperwork for CDS’ crossed your desk or not, you have become a rich man by working at a company that in the end, f**ked us all.....

....Go home to your family, dude. We’re sorry about your sh*tty boss and that lost year of your life, but we’ve got to clean the puke off our second-hand clothes and go whore ourselves to make rent - we don’t have time for your f**king pity party.

...

x

Self Outed Public Figure Jake DeSantis Is Encouraged By Greenwich Roundup To Respond To This Post If He So Chooses.

03/26/09 BIG LOSER: Greenwich Billionaire Once Again Fails To Make The Grade. Lampert saw his nine largest equity stakes lose $5 Billion.

Has Eddie The Micro Manager Lost His Touch?

Investors Are Wondering If Lampert Can't See The Forest For The Trees.

Sears hedge fund guru a stranger to 'richest' list he once headed
Chicago Sun-Times

Sears Holdings Corp. Chairman and hedge-fund guru Edward S. Lampert failed for the fourth year to make a list he once topped -- the richest hedge-fund managers in the nation.....

....In 2006, Lampert placed sixth on the list by taking home $425 million in 2005.

In the latest Alpha magazine edition (http://www.iimagazine.com/ ), Lampert appears in a story titled "Eight Men Out," listing eight hedge-fund managers who lost the most personal wealth.

... Lampert topped the list published in 2005, after pocketing a $1.02 billion salary in 2004 for his leadership of Greenwich, Conn.-based ESL Investments. ...

....The losses included $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, according to the report.

Lampert owns 40 percent of Sears stock. The ESL portfolio is estimated to be worth $11.5 billion.

================================================================
Please send your comments, news tips and press releases to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com or click on the comments link at the end of this post.

03/26/09 Richard Blumenthal Chickens Out: The names of AIG bonus recipients were edited out out Hearst Newspaper Freedom Of Information Requests.

AIG documents released - Topix
Comments: 16 posts
AIG documents released.

HARTFORD -- In the days after news of their federally funded bonuses became public, Wilton-based AIG was deluged with angry e-mails, many threatening violence.

"I would rejoice if someone went bin Laden on AIG headquarters," said one message dated March 15 on an AIG Yahoo Groups' message board titled, "When does AIG get bombed?"

"The burned corpses of those responsible would bring a smile to my face, as would any tears of their families on the news shows," it concludes.

"The Revolution is coming," another e-mail said. "The family members of your executives are not safe. Your blood will run through the streets in the coming months."

In documents released on Wednesday to Hearst Connecticut Newspapers under the state Freedom of Information Act, AIG Financial Products Corp. officials detailed dozens of threats, along with bonuses for 418 employees totaling $218 million from federal bailout money.

The smallest bonus was $1,000. One hundred people earned bonuses of $82,500 or less, while 317 earned more than $85,000 in bonuses.

Seventy-three were paid more than $1 million in bonuses, according to the documents.

Full Story: Stamford Advocate

FOR THE RECORD:

These "So-Called" Threats Are Hype.

There Have Not Been Any Threats In CT

No Fairfield County Newspaper

Has Reported That Any AIG Employee

Has Filed A Complaint With Any Local

Police Or State Police Department

Some Drunk Guy Gets On A Yahoo Message Board

And Mouths Off

This Is The Best AIG Can Come Up With?

This Is Not A Good Enough Reason Not To Tell

Greenwich Residents Where Their Hard Earned

Tax Dollars Went To.

If AIG Bailout Bums receive Death Threats Via Email Or By Phone, They Should Immediately Contact The Police And Let Them Trace Down The Offender.

Greenwich Bloggers Get Threatened All The Time By Drunken Bums

Usually, Greenwich Bloggers Ignore These Idiots And Their Flames Sent Via Comment Links

Greenwich Bloggers Are Able To Trace Down The Idiots With Ease At No Cost, So Why Can't AIG With Its Billions In Tax Dollars And Lawyers Find One Credible Threat.

The Local Topix Message Boards Directly Linked To Scores Of AIG News Reports, Have Been Death Threat Free.

This Is Just A Smoke Screen That AIG Is Using To Prevent The Public From Exercising Their Right To Know Where Their Hard Earned Tax Dollars Went.

Eventually, We Will Learn Who The AIG Bonus Bums Are Because New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo Is Not Afraid Of AIG.

After Cuomo Releases The Names, Then Resident "Me Too" Richard Blumenthal Will Join The NY Attorney General's Band Wagon

PLEASE SEE:

03/21/09 GREENWICH BLOGGERS SAY QUIT YOUR CRYING AND GROW A PAIR: It's Not Just Greedy AIG Bailout Thieves That Get Harrassed And Threatened

03/21/09 READER SUBMITTED COMMENTS: Fairfield They Laughs At The Toubled AIG, But Greenwich Residents Don't Like It When Their Bloggers Are Threatened

03/21/09 READER SUBMITTED COMMENTS: Threats Against Greenwich Blogger Chris Fountain Should Be Traced

03/21/09 Threats Against Greenwich Blogger May Be Comming From No Other Than Ex-Bear Sterns Fat Cat Robert Steinberg

MORE INFORMATION:

12/25/08 Greenwich Resident Robert Steinberg Wasn't Happy With Helping Destroy Bear Sterns. No He Has To Destroy Whats Left Of The Republican Party!!!

================================================================

Please send your comments, news tips and press releases to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com or click on the comments link at the end of this post.

03/26/09 The Raw Greenwich News Feed; This Just In ....

The Greenwich Latest News Briefs:

Failed Hearst Newspaper Managing Editor Missed This Story, Maybe It Will Be Up At The Greenwich Time Later Today.......

Skakel To Make New Appeal Today To State Supreme Court
Hartford Courant
They are: •The post-conviction disclosure by Gitano "Tony" Bryant, a frequent, teen-age visitor to Greenwich at the time of Moxley's death, that two of his ...

Rob Mathes to perform at Dana's Angels benefit concert
Stamford Plus Magazine
By Press Release Greenwich's own multi-talented performer and music director Rob Mathes, fresh from the recent excitement of musically directing President ...

New-Home Sales Rise as Prices Fall
Wall Street Journal
The data "have allayed some fears that the housing market would continue to freefall," said Omar Sharif, an economist with RBS Greenwich Capital, ...

Commercial Mortgage Bond Spreads Decline on Treasury's Plan
Bloomberg - USA
... debt is "incredibly important" for commercial-mortgage backed securities, said Kenneth Hackel, head of fixed-income strategy at RBS Greenwich Capital. ...

The Lateset Greenwich Blog Post:

Wanted: Loving-Energetic-Playful Nanny that Cooks ...
By Nanny Jobs in Long Island, NY
Greenwich family looking for loving, playful, energetic nanny that cooks. Must be able to keep up with three energetic children ages 4, 7 & 9. Ideal candidate... From NannyClassifieds.com - save job, email, more...
JCL - Jobs & Career Leverage - http://mycampus.biz/jobs/

Please send your comments, news tips and press releases to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com or click on the comments link at the end of this post.

03/26/09 PRESS RELEASE: :Just Books' Events: March 26-April 4

Upcoming Events
· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

JUST BOOKS' UPCOMING EVENTS
"SPRING IS IN THE AIR"

To download the latest Just Books' Event Calendar, Click Here

Author Visit & Book Signing
SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 10:00 AM
SANDI HABER FIFIELD
WALKING THROUGH THE WORLD

Just Books
28 Arcadia Road, Old Greenwich, CT
Free and open to the public

Photographer Sandi Haber Fifield will sign copies of her beautiful and moving book of photography, Walking Through the World (Charta, $55). This gorgeous book with 188 color illustrations and texts by Arthur Ollman and Tom O'Connor, is one that is profound and captivating. The photos are born of collisions and alignments, made as Haber Fifield navigates the world around her. Her works can be seen in many of the world's outstanding collections and museums including The Museum of Modern Art in NY, The Art Institute of Chicago and the LA County Museum. Sandi has also worked as an editorial and commercial artist for Metropolitan Home, Esquire, MTV and CBS Records.

_____________________________________________________

Story Hour
TODDLER & PRE-SCHOOL STORY HOUR
WEDNESDAYS, 10:30 AM
APRIL 1, 15, 22 & 29

Just Books
28 Arcadia Road, Old Greenwich, CT
Free and Open to the Public; Reservations Recommended - 203-637-0707

NEW! Toddler and pre school story hour each Wednesday morning at 10:30 a.m. at Just Books; call 203-637-0707 to reserve a space
_____________________________________________________

Kid's Board
JUST BOOKS' KIDS BOARD
TUESDAY & THURSDAY, 4:00 - 4:45 PM
MARCH 26 & 31; APRIL 2, 14, 16, 21, 23, 28 & 30

Just Books
28 Arcadia Road, Old Greenwich, CT
Free and Open to the Public - Ages 5-18

Kids ages 5-18 come review NEW books at Just Books!
Just Books' Kids Board meets every Tuesday & Thursday. Moderated by Jenny Lawton. Drop-ins welcome!

_____________________________________________________

Just Books would like to THANK the community for its continued support. The success of an independent neighborhood bookstore is dependent on its loyal customers.

-- Marion Holmes and the staff at Just Books
_____________________________________________________

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR THESE UPCOMING
JUST BOOKS' EVENTS

APRIL 14, 7:30 PM - COKIE ROBERTS with WE ARE OUR MOTHERS' DAUGHTERS and LADIES OF LIBERTY at Arcadia Café (Book Signing)

APRIL 15, 12 PM -- Greenwich Water Club Book Club - Unaccustomed Earth by Jumpa Lahiri; luncheon $40 (includes book): reservations required by calling 203-661-4033

APRIL 18, 10 AM - ANTHONY SKIP ALLOCCO with FISHIN' JACK (THE FISHIN' FANATIC) AND THE ORIGIN OF FLY FISHING (THE REEL STORY) at Just Books (Book Signing)

APRIL 21, 7 PM - Fresh Picks Book Club, moderated by Jenny Lawton at Arcadia Café; cost is $50 and includes hardcover book, salad, soup; BYO; reservations required by calling 203-647-8766

APRIL 22, 7:00 PM - SARAH DARER LITTMAN with PURGE at Arcadia Café (Book Signing)

APRIL 25, 10:00 AM - E.D. HILL with I'M NOT YOUR FRIEND, I'M YOUR PARENT: HELPING YOUR CHILDREN SET THE BOUNDARIES THEY NEED... AND REALLY WANT at Just Books (Book Signing)

APRIL 28, 7:30 PM -- JEFFREY TOOBIN with THE NINE: INSIDE THE SECRET WORLD OF THE SURPREME COURT at Just Books (Book Signing)

APRIL 2, 14, 16, 21, 23, 28 & 30, 4 - 4:45 PM -- Just Books' KIDS BOARD - Kids ages 5-18 at Just Books

APRIL 1, 15, 22 & 29, 10:30 AM - Just Books' Toddler & Pre School Story Hour at Just Books

Join Our Mailing List

JUST BOOKS
28 Arcadia Road
Old Greenwich, CT 06870
203-637-0707

STORE HOURS:
M-F, 9am - 5pm
Sat, 9am-4pm
Closed Sun
REMEMBER - JUST BOOKS HAS AUTHOR SIGNED BOOKS! LIMITED SUPPLIES AVAILABLE

Just Books is proud to support the community with a renewed and continued focus on customer service. Check out the Just Books' calendar for upcoming events, including book signings, book clubs, youth literacy and writing programs (Just Words @ Just Books on Monday nights). Also stop by anytime and meet the new owner Marion Holmes. Just Books also wants to hear from you, so please send us your favorites, recommendations and wish list! Just Books can special order any book, gift wrap and ship to anywhere in the U.S.

Call 203-637-0707 for more information

Please send your comments, news tips and press releases to GreenwichRounmdup@gmail.com or click on the comments link at the end of this post.

For more information on the above event stop by:

Just Books 28 Arcadia Road Old Greenwich CT 06870

03/26/09 Former Greenwich Resident Fake Jake DeSantist: "I didn't do nothin' .... Besides I deserve All That Cash ......"

Jason DeSantis (above) lives in a house

once owned by Mark Twain

Waaaaaa! AIG Brat Jason DeSantis whines and resigns
New York Daily News

BY Oren Yaniv, Edgar Sandoval and Helen Kennedy

An AIG exec who got a payout of over $1 million quit his job Wednesday in a huffy public letter that was meant to generate sympathy - but instead landed like a lead balloon.

Jason DeSantis, 39, argued that because he had worked hard and didn't cause the firm's problems, he deserved to get his promised bonus.

"We in the financial products unit have been betrayed by AIG and are being unfairly persecuted by elected officials," DeSantis, vice president of AIG Financial Products for 11 years, wrote to company CEO Edward Liddy.

"I am disappointed and frustrated over your lack of support for us," he wrote. "You didn't defend us against the baseless and reckless comments made by the attorneys general of New York and Connecticut."

The letter was published Wednesday in The New York Times, and DeSantis was greeted with a standing ovation when he walked into his office, according to a source close to the firm.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal wasn't moved. He pointed out that DeSantis glossed over a key fact: Without a massive taxpayer bailout, AIG would have collapsed months ago.

"His company and his contract and his bonus would simply be nonexistent without the taxpayer, and that critical fact is ignored," Blumenthal said.

The letter caused a big ruckus online, where many branded it more unseemly whining from an entitled fat cat who still doesn't understand the pain financiers have wrought.

"Cry me a river," read one typical comment.

Adding insult to injury, DeSantis said he didn't need the money, acknowledged that he was overpaid, and said that he was taking his bonus - "$742,006.40 after taxes" - and giving it to charity instead of back to AIG, as Blumenthal and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo have demanded.

"I at least deserve to dictate how my earnings are spent, and do not want to see them disappear back into the obscurity of AIG's or the federal government's budget," he wrote.

He did not mention that since AIG is now 80% owned by the taxpayer, returning his bonus would have returned it to the taxpayer.

"I commend his motivation in wanting to help people who have been harmed by the economic downturn, but this is taxpayer money," Blumenthal said.

DeSantis, an MIT scientist who went into finance and made tens of millions at AIG, lives with his wife, Erika, in a gated community in Redding, Conn., in a house once owned by Mark Twain.....

....In his letter, DeSantis took a shot at Blumenthal and Cuomo for threatening to out the names of execs who don't return bonuses "even though attorneys general are supposed to stand for due process, to conduct trials in courts and not the press."

Cuomo had no comment. Blumenthal said he hasn't made anyone's name public: "He put his own name in the public realm,".....

03/24/09 UNETHICAL BEHAVIOUR: Former Greenwich Resident And AIG Bum "Fake Jake" DeSantis Tries To Buck Efforts to Give Back Bonus Pay

DEAR AIG, I QUIT
New York Times

......The Arrogant Little AIG SOB That Refuses To Give Back

His Neighbors Hard Earned Tax Dollars Continues.....
....I take this action after 11 years of dedicated, honorable service to A.I.G. I can no longer effectively perform my duties in this dysfunctional environment.......

..... Even Though Cry Baby Jake DeSantis Refuses To Ask For Forgiveness For Stealing From All Of His Neighbors .....

He Still Wants Everyone To Love And Feel Sorry For Him:....

Be Sure To Read Bonus Bum
"Fake Jake" DeSantis' Fine Print:

....On March 16 I received a payment from A.I.G. amounting to $742,006.40, after taxes ......

(Jake DeSantis Is Such An Unethical AIG Bum That He Has Obviously Visited An Accountant To Calculate The Amount Of Taxes To The Penny. DeSantis Is Such A Greedy SOB He Couldn't Add $933.40 Of His Own Money To Make The Taxpayer Funded Package An Even $743,000)

.....This choice is right for me. I wish others at A.I.G.-F.P. luck finding peace with their difficult decision, and only hope their judgment is not clouded by fear......

......Spoiled Disloyal Bonus Bum " Fake Jake" DeSantis
Gives No Notice To AIG:

He's Just Going To Take His Neighbor's Money And Run.....

....Mr. Liddy, I wish you success in your commitment to return the money extended by the American government, and luck with the continued unwinding of the company’s diverse businesses — especially those remaining credit default swaps. I’ll continue over the short term to help make sure no balls are dropped, but after what’s happened this past week I can’t remain much longer — there is too much bad blood.....