Penny Pritzker as an example of the criminality of our elites

[HiPointDem]

Many of you already know that I used to be an economics correspondent, and that I burned out and became depressed watching Wall Street have its way in the early 1990s in what was called, back then, "off balance sheet liabilities" (what we today call "financial derivatives" - the stuff, like credit default swaps, that blew up in 2007 through 2008, and left a dismaying amount of the world's economy in ashes). Well, that's not really the whole truth. About what got me depressed, that is. So, tonight, you're going to learn a bit more...

In a word, the mob. Organized crime. The syndicate. In Chicago, it was called the Outfit. But every major city had its own crime family, or branch thereof. You see, part of what I researched and wrote about in that depressing period of nearly a quarter century ago was how the billions of dollars, nay, hundreds of billions of dollars that were fueling what was politely called mergers and acquisitions, most especially including leveraged buy outs, came from, not entirely, but in large part, organized crime. That included hundreds of billions of dollars that the Wall Street banks laundered from illegal narcotics trafficking, including heroin and cocaine. The beginnings of financial derivatives were closely tied to the mob going legit...

The story of the hour is Penny Pritzker becoming Secretary of Commerce. So, tonight, you're going to learn about the Pritzker family and its fortune. I suspect that it's probably more than you want to know.

The origins of the Pritzker family fortune was her grandfather's mob connections when he was a tax attorney for a lot of people in "The Outfit," the Chicago mob, beginning under Al Capone, and continuing through the 1980s. This connection to organized crime was reportedly what financed the creation of Hyatt Hotels by Penny's father. There was no crime involved, but the financial backing came from organized crime, plain and simple. The details are in Gus Russo's 2006 tome Supermob: How Sidney Korshak and His Criminal Associates Became America's Hidden Power Brokers. Russo's book is crucial reading for anyone trying to understand why America's ruling elites are, well, so bad...

Before Superior Bank, the Pritzkers controlled Frontier Finance, a loan company in Chicago that one source told Russo "is believed to be the secret to the origins of the family's involvement with criminals." The president of Frontier Finance was Frank Buccieri. And Buccieri's brother was the greatly feared "collector" for the Outfit, Fiore "Fifi" Buccieri, who Life magazine in May 1969 termed "leader of [Sam] Giancana's assassination squads..." Buccieri used a warehouse where he would hang his victims on a meathook...

Is it impolite to ask about the similarities in the business models of Frontier Finance in the 1950s and Superior Bank in the 1990s...? In other words, if you traced today’s sub-prime crisis back to its origins, you would come upon the role of the Pritzkers and Superior Bank of Chicago.... ....it turned out that the Pritzkers were the largest depositors in one of the most notorious offshore tax havens ever devised, The Castle Bank of the Bahamas, which was nothing less than an intersection of the Supermob, known gangsters, pop stars, a U.S. president, and the covert branch of the CIA--all of whom had good reason to hide their money from Uncle Sam...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/05/19/1210299/-Penny-Pritzker-as-an-example-of-the-criminality-of-our-elites

[xchrom]

1. du rec.

[chervilant]

2. This richly illustrates why banks

ALWAYS, (always, always, always, always, always -- I can't say always enough here) always get their money. They all have meat hooks in their closets ...

[marmar]

3. K&R

[LuvNewcastle]

4. There's lots of information in this article that people need to know.

Wish I could rec it again.

[KoKo]

29. "The Privilege of the Pritzkers: Penny Pritzger the Subprime Queen"

An Interview with Tim Anderson on Obama's Commerce Nominee, Penny Pritzker, the Sub-Prime Queen
The Privilege of the Pritzkers

Dennis J. Bernstein is a host of “Flashpoints” on the Pacifica radio network and the author of Special Ed: Voices from a Hidden Classroom. You can access the audio archives at www.flashpoints.net.


Chicago-Based independent banking investigator Tim Andersen, says Penny Pritzger played fast and loose with the American Dream. Anderson, who has been investigating for many years Pritzker’s pioneering sub-prime operations, says Superior Bank in Chicago, specifically targeted poor and working class people of color across the country. He asserts that her extreme wealth and privilege has not only made her virtually untouchable by law enforcement, but now her appointment to Sec of Commerce, will allow her to cleanse her sub-prime banking record by becoming the Secretary of Commerce.


D.B Let’s start with some deep background on Penny Pritzker and the family holdings…

TA: There are 11 senior Pritzkers, the descendants of A. M Pritzker, who is the 11th wealthiest person after Forbes. But they are different as far as their wealth goes. Before they broke up the family dynasty because of a suit between two of the junior siblings, they had about 15 billion dollars. Bloomberg thought it was more like 38 billion because so many of the assets are major companies that are privately owned, it’s hard to evaluate that.

DB: $38 billion, with a B.

TA: $38 billion. One publication listed eight casinos, another listed 13, with each license worth a half a million dollars. There is another $5-7 billion in casinos. When you own 13 casinos for 5-7 billion, you are a player in the casino business. That’s just the hotels and casinos. There are many other companies they own such as the second largest chewing tobacco company, which they sold for 3.5 billion dollars. They actually owned the second and third largest chewing tobacco company, but have since off-loaded those for billions of dollars. Many of their assets are not what society considers clean assets, but hey don’t care. As far as money goes, they want it. When it comes to casinos or chewing tobacco companies, they don’t care. Their wealth is almost incalculable, because according to Forbes magazine, they are the only family in America to have off shore tax-free trusts because they were grandfathered in. Their off shore trust can ship money back to their family tax-free. It was grandfathered in because their grandfather got it through Congress – he was smart to see the future and got it done. Congress closed the loophole and grandfathered him in. Forbesmagazine wrote about the Pritzker’s off shore trust, they emphasized that there are over 1000 separate trusts. Many families have two or three different savings accounts to keep track of what money belongs to who, but when you have over 1000 different trusts to handle the family estate it’s very hard to comprehend how much wealth there is and how many businesses they control. A few years ago, Penny sold TransUnion, the largest credit reporting agency in America, but there’s a question about whether she sold it to herself by selling it to various hedge funds which her family has a large interest in. Until she sold it, you could say that Penny Pritzker had more files on every citizen in America than the CIA and FBI combined, because everybody has a credit score and credit report. Penny Pritzker had the credit scores and report on every single citizen in America.

DB: That’s amazing because before she had TransUnion, she had Superior Bank, through which she destroyed the credit of tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands. You might say she helped destroy the credit of the United States of America.

TA: She had TransUnion while she had Superior Bank, so she controlled the credit scores of everybody who was getting a subprime loan. You pay a higher interest on your subprime loan based on your credit score. Whether or not it was ever brokered between the credit bureau and the bank, we don’t know, but we know the same people control both entities.

http://web.archive.org/liveweb/http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/05/03/the-privilege-of-the-pritzkers/

[LuvNewcastle]

34. Thanks. More good stuff!

[KoKo]

41. Thanks..it compliments "HiPoint's" post ...I hoped.

[Hubert Flottz]

5. K&R

[LonePirate]

6. I was mocked and insulted yesterday when I said corporations and 1%ers controlled our President

I am glad others seem to share a similar viewpoint.

[mtasselin]

7. many

There are so many people in this once great country of ours that feel the same way. I hate to say it but Hillary will be the same, but I can only hope better than the alternative.

[RILib]

11. Hillary would be worse

everything Obama is plus loves war.

[rhett o rick]

49. Small correction. Hillary will be worse. nm

[Dustlawyer]

15. They also control control Congress, Judiciary, and the media!

[heaven05]

19. Truth

always hurts. Keep telling 'the truth'. Don't worry about the mockers, they are part sheeple.

[sulphurdunn]

25. In fairness to the President,

it's been a long time since an honorable man had his job, so he is not unique in his servility to the monied class. Until we do away with pay to play politics it is unlikely we'll get anyone better than him and are more likely to see much worse.

[heaven05]

31. that's

Last edited Fri Jun 7, 2013, 12:32 PM - Edit history (2)

a balanced perspective. True about the monied class and political servility and groveling at their feet. The money is so deeply entrenched now, don't know whether we'll ever get rid of it? I don't have much hope. I don't doubt our POTUS is an honorable man, so far as the monied class allows him to be. Principled?

[rhett o rick]

50. Pres Jimmy Carter was an honorable man. But I get your point. But your point really is that we

have no options. And I agree. I wont ever stop fighting, but we are out moneyed.

Things will get nasty because the greedy will not back off. We will get to see the Capitalism End Game. It wont be pretty.

[sulphurdunn]

51. Carter was an honorable man,

the last one, and his presidency ended 32 years ago. And you're right. Things will get much worse before they get better.

[chervilant]

37. I get mocked about this

virtually every time I post about the corporate megalomaniacs who've usurped our media, our politics, AND our global economy. The VERY wealthiest humans hail from sixty different countries (most are from the US), and they are fewer than 400 in number. They are wealthy beyond our wildest imaginations. If anyone thinks that ANY member of this uber wealthy elite is even remotely concerned about the Hoi Polloi, I have some nice ocean-front property for sale in Nevada.

[WCGreen]

39. It's not President but the Presidency that is owned by big "business" ...

Who sits in that chair really doesn't make all that much difference.

[Aviation Pro]

8. Behind every great fortune....

...is a great crime.

Cue the music, seems appropriate.

[marble falls]

9. Kennedys: bootlegging, Forbes: opium trade, Bushes: Rockefeller henchmen etc.

[RILib]

10. I don't mind bootlegging

any more than I support the war on drugs.

[marble falls]

12. Bootlegging is tax dodging, too and often means a little mayhem and murder.

[annabanana]

13. This is exactly what happens when Citizens are more interested

in Kardashians than they are in their DAMN JOB of watching the government.

[AndyA]

18. Thank you! If Kim Kardashian found a pimple on her butt, the M$M would talk about it for days

But Americans losing their rights, being ripped off by big business, or being informed about environmental damage caused by corporations...not so much.

[KoKo]

42. Ain't that the truth...!

[Hotler]

33. And NASCAR, Football etc.

[KoKo]

46. True...Can't leave those out, either. Sports and Celebrity Porn Rules!

Gotta have something to talk about with friends and relatives beside Politics and how our Country is being "Run Into the Ground." Otherwise fist fights would break out.

Gotta Keep what Little Peace we have Left...to ourselves. sad that that is...

[Capn Sunshine]

52. Bread and circuses

There is no televised "News" any more.

[Savannahmann]

14. So what is the difference?

So what is the difference between a Democrat and a Republican appointing a big bank affiliated with criminals individual to a cabinet post?

The Difference is that the Rethugs will defend their choice to the limit. While Democrats will defend their choice to the limit. See, we are better.

[KoKo]

56. It's like if Nixon had nominated Bebe Rebozo for Secretary of Commerce...

I'm sure there are other examples...but that came to mind.

[Safetykitten]

16. Well you see, there is way past crime, kinda past crime and current crime....

Wall Street banks are kinda past crime, you see. So nothing can be done. The Pritzker gang is way past crime, and kinda past crime so they are WAY in the clear.

[heaven05]

17. doesn't

surprise me in the least. Obama, are you doing? But what am I getting enraged about, amerikkka was built on theft, slavery and criminality. Never will be different.

[BrainDrain]

20. Everyone screams and yells.....

but it keeps on keepin on. WHEN will we learn? Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls WAKE THE FUCK UP!!!!! Why do we continue to get fooled by these bozo's?

You know what, I am as guilty as any of you here that thought Obama would be different. I admit it freely. First step of the recovering believer.

So now that I have disbursed myself of my naivete, you should as well.

Obama is NOT a saviour, never has been, never will be. Neither is Hillary, or the memory of Ronnie Ray-guns, or really anyone else at the moment. So what is left?

We are. Us. The people. The sooner we wake up to that the better for all of US.

[nashville_brook]

21. k and r

jeeeeesus.

[tblue37]

22. Did YOU write this on Kos--or in the mag where it was

originally published? From your Op it seems that you are the author, but on Kos it looks as though it is by someone else and that the person on Kos is quoting it, and the link in your OP hints that you might just be quoting a Kos poster who is quoting a piece by someone else.

If YOU wrote it, then you should make that less confusing. But if you did notwrite it, then you should make that clear, because as the OP is written, it sure does look as though you are saying that you wrote the original piece that was then quoted on Kos. Maybe start your post with something like, "I found this article quoted on Kos."

[LuvNewcastle]

23. I wasn't confused a bit.

Usually if the OP has a link, that's a good indication that the article was written by someone else.

[HiPointDem]

26. as it's all cut & paste from the page i link, i don't think it's confusing

[RainDog]

24. k&r n/t

[Wellstone ruled]

27. Finnally the real truth has

emerged. Have posted in the past as to who the puppet masters were. The Mob has been cranking Wall Street for decades. Someone is always for sale,don't like that term,but,it seems true. Bottom line,this country is run by the 1%ers and they love to throw bits of meat at the populace and stand back and laugh. We must continue to keep pushing back,they know if things get rough,the pitch forks and torches will be out. Most of the public has learned the truth about how the Bankstyers used the Media and the Police forces to beat the hell out of OWS.

[blkmusclmachine]

28. DC is like the mob.

[Egalitarian Thug]

30. "Behind every great fortune lies a great crime". Usually, as in this case, a long series

of crimes that have not been prosecuted because the people charged with making and enforcing the laws live in the same neighborhoods, belong to the same country clubs, and feed at the same troughs of stolen worker's money.

[forestpath]

32. Obama surrounds himself with the criminal elite. Speaks louder than words

whose side he is on.

[xtraxritical]

35. Give up on Obama, just hope he's not a deep cover RepubliCON

and is going to "throw" the 2014 2016 elections.

[forestpath]

36. I don't think he has to throw the election - his Republican behavior will keep

Democrats home in droves.

[woo me with science]

45. He is a corporatist. They own both parties.

"In the US, there is basically one party - the business party. It has two factions, called Democrats and Republicans, which are somewhat different but carry out variations on the same policies. By and large, I am opposed to those policies. As is most of the population."

Noam Chomsky

[MotherPetrie]

38. Yup -- Penny's Obama's gal.

[KoKo]

47. They used to be called "KingMakers" in other times...Now it's "President Makers"

and it's one of our own FEMALES doing it.

Doesn't sit well to me whichever sex it is doing it, though. Whether it's a Male or Female with that kind of INFLUENCE because of Money, Power and Family and extended Family Connections... it says to me a Democracy should not allow that kind of Power to rule and control everything in its way "picking and choosing" for the rest of us as if we are just clueless, pliable peasants...just waiting to be manipulated and then sold out.

[Teamster Jeff]

40. She will fit right in with the Wall Street Democrats in DC

[KoKo]

43. Except...she gives to "both sides" ....so just 'cause she's

a "President Maker" doesn't mean she's a Democrat. In fact if you just Google her or read the posts here on DU about her (which unfortunately go to archives FAST) she is an "Equal Opportunity Political Exploiter" who uses both sides to keep her Family Fortune Intact.

She has to work hard these days because her half sister and half brother sued her...but, she's still the "Big Honcho" along with her California Brother who was Campaign Finance Chair for Hillary in 2008 Election. The Pritzkers are definitely "Equal Opportunity" if it suits their needs .

[woo me with science]

53. Noam Chomsky

"In the US, there is basically one party - the business party. It has two factions, called Democrats and Republicans, which are somewhat different but carry out variations on the same policies. By and large, I am opposed to those policies. As is most of the population."

Noam Chomsky

[RagAss]

44. It's called Treason. Plain and Simple.

But there is nobody to call the chickens home to roost.

[KoKo]

48. "Pennies from Heaven:" The few "Investigative Reports" still Left have tried.

Penny's from Heaven?

This article is based on the New York Times bestseller: Billionaires & Ballot Bandits, by Greg Palast with comics by Ted Rall. Available for a donation to Truthout.org.

Pritzker introduced Obama, the neophyte state senator, to the Ladies Who Lunch (that's really what they call themselves) on Chicago's Gold Coast. Obama got lunch, gold and better - an introduction to Robert Rubin. Rubin is a former Secretary of the Treasury, former chairman of Goldman Sachs and, when Robert met Barry, co-chairman of Citibank. Even atheists recognized Rubin as the Supreme Deity of Wall Street.

Rubin opened the doors to finance industry vaults for Obama. Extraordinarily for a Democrat, Obama in 2008 raised three times as much from bankers as his Republican opponent.

So what did Citibank's Rubin get for showering Obama with gold? Obama agreed to take care of Rubin's poodles, Larry Summers and Tim Geithner. They became Obama's first cabinet picks: Summers as Economics Czar and Geithner as his czarina, Secretary of the Treasury.

Geithner and Summers were the gents who, under Treasury Secretary Rubin, designed the deregulation of banking. In effect, they had decriminalized the kind of financial flim-flammery that brought the planet to its knees while bringing Rubin, Pritzker and the banksters loads of lucre.

So, in 2008, Summers and Geithner were put back in the saddle - Obama's horse but Rubin's saddle.

Rubin received more than $100 million from Citigroup, the gargantuan commercial bank/investment bank/casino created by deregulation. It is worth a mention that Rubin's centi-million-dollar payoff went unchallenged by Citi's new owner, the US Treasury, which had put up more than a trillion dollars in loans and guarantees to pull Rubin's creature out of bankruptcy.

Rubin rocked, but Penny was pissed off.

Pritzker had taken this state senator/community organizer from the ghetto, made him a US Senator, then, as Obama's campaign finance chairwoman, raised a mind-blowing three-quarters of a billion dollars to make him president.

In return, in 2008, Obama decided to make his patron Penny the Secretary of Commerce. But then, in November 2008, just as Obama was about to submit her nomination to Congress, a bunch of Pritzker's victims marched on Washington. They were not from her busted bank, but unhappy workers from the lucrative nursing homes that her family owns through a string of complex offshore trusts. Obama slammed the door on Penny pronto.

In the 2012 campaign, Obama, to his credit, kept the door shut on Pritzker, reducing her to hosting an election fundraiser at her Gold Coast digs, which she had to bill as a Goldman Sachs PAC event. This marks possibly the first time anyone has used Goldman Sachs as a PR cover.

Much more of Greg Palast's Investigative Report and Follow up with Latest at:

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/14493-billionaire-banker-bandit-likely-commerce-secretary

[nikto]

54. Where are the screaming Republicans?

Why aren't they attacking her?

Oh, yeah. That's right.
















($)

[raouldukelives]

55. K&R Great piece. The mob is alive and well on Wall St.

Anyone who dreams of living a life that doesn't make things worse for their children and wildlife couldn't choose a worse path than working & investing in the stock market.
No amount of good intentions, good works and charitable giving could erase the stench of death those profits are accumulted from.