BP Editors
The head of JPMorgan is among those elite businessmen who has managed to remain largely unscathed in the shameful and scandalous financial crisis. Dimon is lauded for his business acumen, but it is worth keeping in mind that he and his ilk are responsible for the disastrous effects the economic crisis has had on the country, and that his corporate savvy doesn’t come with clean hands. Reporter Matt Taibbi wrote of Dimon, “he is no better than a mafia don running a criminal organization or a corrupt dictator.” The crimes for which JPMorgan could be held accountable include “mortgage abuses during the crisis years … a Libor manipulation investigation, violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, manipulation of a corporate bond index, an obstruction of justice investigation, and even potentially some involvement with the Madoff ponzi scheme,” according to Slate. And yet Dimon is still the darling of Wall Street, praised left and right for his smart moves prior to the financial meltdown of other banks and his ability to keep his bank’s business running smoothly. Alternet, which included Dimon in their roundup of America’s most corrupt capitalists noted that he brazenly negotiated a bailout package for JP Morgan with the New York Fed while serving on the board of the New York Fed. You can’t make this stuff up.
