Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

SEC Should Discipline Three Officials Who Interfered with Gary Aguirre's Insider Trading Investigation, Says Inspector General

The Securities and Exchange Commission's inspector general has concluded that the SEC should consider disciplining three officials who kept San Diegan Gary Aguirre, formerly of the SEC staff, from interviewing a top Wall Street official in an insider trading investigation. The story was reporrted in this morning's (Oct. 7) New York Times. The recommendation goes right to the heart of today's strong criticism of the SEC: the agency favors Wall Street's top officials, permitting large law firms to thwart investigations of the richest malefactors. In this case, Aguirre wanted to interview John J. Mack, chief executive of Morgan Stanley. Aguirre was investigating possible insider trading by a hedge fund, and wondered if Mack had played a role. Aguirre was fired and Mack was not interviewed until three days after the statute of limitations had passed. The SEC's handling of the matter "raised serious questions about the impartiality and fairness" of the SEC investigation, said H David Kotz, the commission's inspector general. Kotz condemned the "common practice" of giving outside lawyers' clients access to high-level SEC officials when there are complaints about investigators -- exactly what happened in Aguirre's case. The Senate Finance Committee earlier looked into the matter and exonerated Aguirre. Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, who held hearings on the incident, said, "Gary Aguirre told it like it was and lost his job. Today we're paying the price for an SEC culture of deference to Wall Street." There is a similar case with a local twist. As it became obvious that Peregrine Systems would crash and burn in massive fraud, former Chairman John Moores hired his personal lawyer to spearhead an investigation. It was done by the law firm of Latham & Watkins, which of course said Moores was not at fault. The SEC official handling the case lauded the Latham & Watkins study. Then he went to work for Latham & Watkins. This is how it works at the SEC. Lawyers at the agency let malefactors off the hook, then get fat jobs with their law firms. Gary Aguirre is writing a book that should expose this "revolving door" fraud.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

San Diego Made Holiday Market, Veterans Day Parade & VetFest

Events November 10-November 11, 2024

The Securities and Exchange Commission's inspector general has concluded that the SEC should consider disciplining three officials who kept San Diegan Gary Aguirre, formerly of the SEC staff, from interviewing a top Wall Street official in an insider trading investigation. The story was reporrted in this morning's (Oct. 7) New York Times. The recommendation goes right to the heart of today's strong criticism of the SEC: the agency favors Wall Street's top officials, permitting large law firms to thwart investigations of the richest malefactors. In this case, Aguirre wanted to interview John J. Mack, chief executive of Morgan Stanley. Aguirre was investigating possible insider trading by a hedge fund, and wondered if Mack had played a role. Aguirre was fired and Mack was not interviewed until three days after the statute of limitations had passed. The SEC's handling of the matter "raised serious questions about the impartiality and fairness" of the SEC investigation, said H David Kotz, the commission's inspector general. Kotz condemned the "common practice" of giving outside lawyers' clients access to high-level SEC officials when there are complaints about investigators -- exactly what happened in Aguirre's case. The Senate Finance Committee earlier looked into the matter and exonerated Aguirre. Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, who held hearings on the incident, said, "Gary Aguirre told it like it was and lost his job. Today we're paying the price for an SEC culture of deference to Wall Street." There is a similar case with a local twist. As it became obvious that Peregrine Systems would crash and burn in massive fraud, former Chairman John Moores hired his personal lawyer to spearhead an investigation. It was done by the law firm of Latham & Watkins, which of course said Moores was not at fault. The SEC official handling the case lauded the Latham & Watkins study. Then he went to work for Latham & Watkins. This is how it works at the SEC. Lawyers at the agency let malefactors off the hook, then get fat jobs with their law firms. Gary Aguirre is writing a book that should expose this "revolving door" fraud.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Senate Panel Wants Investigation of SEC "Revolving Door"

Next Article

John Moores dumped 46 percent of Peregrine during company-imposed blackout periods

Where has the SEC been all this time?
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader