Correction:
An earlier version of this article misstated the year in which Jon Corzine was ousted from Goldman Sachs. It was 1999, not 1994. This version has been corrected.
In April, Jon Corzine hosted President Obama at his home in Manhattan for the first fundraiser of the president’s reelection campaign. To many power brokers in Washington and on Wall Street, the event signaled Corzine’s desire to return to Washington, perhaps even as Treasury secretary during a second Obama term.
“Obviously,” said Richard Codey (D), a fellow former governor of New Jersey, “that’s not going to happen.”
MF Global, the securities firm led by Jon Corzine, has been accused of breaking rules that require the company to keep clients' money and company funds in separate accounts. (Nov. 1)
This week, Corzine’s firm, MF Global, a commodities and derivatives brokerage house, imploded in a spectacular fashion, completing the onetime Wall Street and Washington grandee’s remarkable descent.
The former Goldman Sachs chief executive, U.S. senator and New Jersey governor had hoped to rebuild the fund into a career-burnishing launching pad for his return to the rarefied world of high finance, or perhaps public service.
Instead, it proved to be a diving board to new depths. Not only did the firm file for bankruptcy protection after the damaging revelation of its possession of potentially toxic European sovereign debt and bonds, but the company is also being investigated after allegedly violating industry regulations by using customer money to cover its long-shot bets. And it doesn’t look great that Corzine built a $12.1 million golden parachute into his contract.
“He has got to hang up his spikes,” said Ross Baker, a political scientist at Rutgers University. Baker said any sort of government position that required a confirmation hearing would now focus attention on his firm. “Especially given that he seemed to be risking other people’s money.”
The loss to Republican Chris Christie in the 2009 governor’s race effectively ended the New Jersey political career of Corzine, who did not respond to a request for comment. But Codey expressed a view held by many members of the state’s political establishment, that Corzine held out hope for an eventual reputation-restoring post in the Obama administration.
“If this works out and Obama wins,” Codey said, “maybe he gets a good post and it’s a comeback and a way to finish off a legacy.”
Not everyone is convinced that Corzine wanted back in.
State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, a Democrat from Union County, said he had dinner with Corzine in May after the Obama event and received no indication that Corzine wanted to return to Washington. He said Corzine was mostly excited to “be back in the business world and out of Jersey politics,” and he interpreted Corzine’s fundraising for Obama as a way to satisfy his “public service gene.”
According to White House officials speaking on background, Corzine’s résumé has the qualifications necessaryto make the Treasury secretary shortlist were Timothy F. Geithner to leave, but the latest development is a major setback.
“The collapse is total,” said one early and influential Corzine backer who requested anonymity in order to speak frankly. “The positive qualities when you run for office, taking big risks, can make you a hero. But in other circumstances, it can be a source of mass destruction.”
Campaign 2012 tools
The Post Most: PoliticsMost-viewed stories, videos and galleries int he past two hours
Featured Blogs & Columns
Loading...
Comments