Across the political spectrum, there was enormous outrage over the the widespread fraud and pay-to-play structures going on in Wall Street that led to the collapse of the economy and the bailing out of the big banks. What I think most people to umbrage tow was the fact that, except for a few cases, the bankers themselves did not face any kind of prosecution for their financial malfeasance. Lives were ruined and they got to walk away from it with billions in salaries, stock options, and bonuses. The question is, if there is so much fraud on Wall Street, why haven't there been more major prosecutions?
This book, Black Edge: Inside Information, Dirty Money, and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street, tackles that question by examining the the hunt by federal investigators and prosecutors to bring down one of the most notorious hedge fund managers in the industry, Steven Cohen. The first half of the book charts the rise of Cohen through the ranks of Wall Street to the founding of his own hedge fund, SAC Capital Advisors, through the lucrative shorting of pharmaceutical stocks where one of his advisors acquired illegal inside information to make the trade. The second half of the book follows federal investigators and prosecutors as they fine SAC Capital and try to bring Steven Cohen himself to justice.
There are a couple of things I learned from reading this book that I think are worth taking a note of.
