OCEA Calls Again For Stripping Street's Investment Authority
Posted by: Jubal | 03/19/2008 5:26 PM
As Total Buzz and TheLiberalOC.com have already posted, OCEA General manager Nick Berardino today sent a letter to the Board of Supes calling on them to strip OC Treasurer Chriss Street of his investment authority:The Board of Supervisors' failure to exercise responsible stewardship over the County's finances in December has now likely cost County taxpayers $80 million. The County Treasurer made an $80 million bet on an SIV named after a racehorse, and now it appears that Whistlejacket Capital has broken down at the quarter pole.Good line, Nick.
Nick, Adam Probolsky and I discussed this on Red County Radio Roundtable last week, and I'm beginning to wonder what would constitute a political tipping point regarding Chriss Street. How much money has to be lost?
Here's Nick Berardino's entire letter:
March 19, 2008
Supervisor John M.W. Moorlach, Chair
Board of Supervisors, County of Orange
10 Civic Center Plaza, 5th Floor
Santa Ana, CA 92701
Dear Supervisor Moorlach:
In December, despite OCEA's strong and repeated objections, the Board of Supervisors continued to abdicate its responsibility for the safety and security of County investments to Treasurer Chriss Street. Today, The Register reported the consequences of the Board's failure to act responsibly and decisively - British court ruling threatens County's $80 million investment.
The Board of Supervisors' failure to exercise responsible stewardship over the County's finances in December has now likely cost County taxpayers $80 million. The County Treasurer made an $80 million bet on an SIV named after a racehorse, and now it appears that Whistlejacket Capital has broken down at the quarter pole.
Since last fall, over and over again OCEA has beseeched the Board to recognize and act upon the series of dangerous red flags that have regularly emanated from the office of the County Treasurer. One "surprise" after another has surfaced, and OCEA has each time sounded the alarm.
With each successive revelation, Mr. Street's tired, predictable responses to the Board have been the same - he "must communicate better;" he will "be more transparent;" he "apologizes;" he assures you that investments in the County investment pool are "completely safe and secure." Astoundingly, the Board repeatedly believed him.
This morning the Treasurer's Office "bombshell of the day" - again disclosed by the press, not by Mr. Street - is that a British court decision places 75 other creditors ahead of the County's investment in Whistlejacket, placing the County's investment at substantial risk.
Make no mistake - each dollar lost due to Mr. Street's risky investment schemes is now the Board's responsibility. There can now be no question that the time has come for the Board of Supervisors to collectively say, "Enough is enough."
Once again, OCEA strongly urges the Board to act promptly to demonstrate to County employees and the public that it finally takes seriously its responsibility as steward of the taxpayers' money. OCEA requests that the Board of Supervisors strip Mr. Street of his investment authority and begin the process of restoring the public's confidence in the safety and security of the County's investment pool. Should the Board fail to do so, responsibility for the consequences will rest where it rightly belongs - squarely on the shoulders of individual members of the Board.
Thank you for your consideration and please call me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
ORANGE COUNTY EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
Nick Berardino
General Manager
Copy to: Janet Nguyen, First District Supervisor
Bill Campbell, Third District Supervisor
Chris Norby, Fourth District Supervisor
Patricia Bates, Fifth District Supervisor
Tom Mauk, County Executive Officer
CATEGORY:
The Perils of Chriss Street
Mr. Ayer registered as a Republican to be electable in an interim election with no incumbents. He did...
Jubal ~ These posts look like automated / canned posts completely off-topic that advertise a product (their newsletter). Would you please consider dumping them? MN
Thank you, Jubal.
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Here’s our market view on American stock market for 17th October, 2008
The major stock averages had another dramatic day of swings yesterday, the Dow reversing from down 380 in the morning to close up 401 points. The averages finished just shy of their highs of the session and the NASDAQ Composite led the way.
Stocks briefly rose at the opening, then reversed lower as a plunge in the October Philly Fed index (reported -37.5 v. estimated -10) and disappointing reading on September industrial production (reported -2.8% v. estimated -0.8%) weighed heavily. Follow-through selling from Wednesday was also a likely factor adding to the pressure on stocks.
The measures of fear again reached record levels in the morning plunge. The CBOE Volatility Index, the VIX, and the CBOE NASDAQ 100 volatility indicator both rose to new intraday all-time highs of 81.17 and 84.62, respectively. Stocks steadily slid to their late morning lows. At that point, the DJIA was down 380 and the NASDAQ 62 point and the internals of the market were overwhelmingly negative for both the NYSE and NASDAQ.
From the lows, the Dow rallied more than 500 points in an hour, gave back 200 points from their early afternoon peaks and settled into narrow ranges. A late acceleration sparked another 500-point rally up to the close. With the stock market successfully holding onto to their gains, the VIX and NASDAQ Volatility indexes eased back into their closes. The broad market finished solidly positive. Volume picked up substantially from the previous day's low levels.
Today - Volatility will also rise as a significant amount of options expire in a triple-witching session. The opening looks lower.
ThePowerStocks.com Team
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How to turn $1000 into $ 1MILLION in 5 years or less using nothing but...
" a brokerage account (so that you can trade),
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