We often can’t prove addiction in corrupt public figures. However, addiction is the best explanation for the behaviors of attorneyMarc Dreier, former Congressman William Jefferson, a bunch of rabbis and officials in New Jersey and New York, and a couple of Ponzi operators named Bravata and Trabulsy.
Under watch:
In an early 2009 piece on white collar crime, The Economis magazine mentioned something those who have read my books would predict: “Many [Club Fed and other white collar] prisoners suddenly discover, post-conviction, that they had a drinking problem….” I would add that those who don’t figure this out might benefit from greater introspection. In the spirit of The Economist’s discovery, a litany of recent cases follow for which the evidence of alcoholism is in the crime itself.
Disgraced lawyer Marc Dreier, sentenced to 20 years after admitting to selling $700 million in fake promissory notes and to stealing client funds. Dreier, who was featured in the January 2009 TAR “under watch” section, explained that his crimes “in part” grew out of his finding himself in great debt, the collapse of his 15-year marriage and a crushing sense of underachievement. He may find, post-conviction and with plenty of time for deeper introspection, that the “other part” is related to alcoholism and, in fact, this is the “only part.”
Former Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson, convicted on 11 counts of bribery and corruption in a case in which FBI agents found $90,000 of cold cash in his freezer. Most of the eight-week trial consisted of government testimony; his defense wrapped up its case in a matter of hours. While proof of alcoholism eludes, we must always keep in mind the example of astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Jefferson would not be the first or last very functional egomaniacal hidden alcoholic.
44 people netted in a federal corruption probe, including rabbis and elected officeholders from New Jersey and New York. One of the men, Levy-Izhak Rosenbaum, who allegedly bought kidneys from impoverished people overseas, is described as a “thug” who reportedly pulled a gun on any kidney donors who got cold feet, telling them “You’re here. A deal is a deal. Now, you’ll give us a kidney or you’ll never go home.” Those arrested include the mayors of Hoboken, Ridgefield and Secaucus, Jersey City’s deputy mayor, two state assemblymen and four other rabbis. The arrests occurred three years after Solomon Dwek, the son of a rabbi, was charged in connection with bouncing a $25 million check he deposited in a bank’s drive-through window. Whenever we shake our heads and wonder, “What was he thinking?” we must look for addiction. Usually, we’d find it—but only if able to dig where the public isn’t invited.
John J. Bravata, a former police officer from Brighton, Michigan, and Richard J. Trabulsy, alleged to have raised more than $50 million since 2006 from 440 investors for a real estate investment fund and using at least $7 million to pay for their own luxury homes, exotic vacations, gambling debts and a Ferrari. The alleged fraud began at the fund’s inception: according to the SEC, Bravata used about $90,000 from the first two investors to buy himself the Ferrari. Bravata and Trabulsy allegedly used at least $11 million of new investors’ funds to pay distributions to earlier investors. The promised returns of 8% to 12% on the $20.7 million in funds actually used to buy real estate are not likely to materialize, particularly since the real estate is leveraged with liabilities exceeding $128 million. It hasn’t yet been reported how they managed to blow $14 million soliciting and marketing their offering, but the addictionologist might speculate that they threw some pretty extravagant parties in a bid to (allegedly) con their marks.