HousingPANIC Quote of the Day

"Angelo Mozilo is not a bad man, he is a very good man"

-Disgraced Countrywide Toxic Mortgage former board member and Mozilo co-conspirator Henry Cisneros, August 2008, supporting his Don and hoping against hope that he won't be subpoenaed and charged with various financial crimes (again)

HousingPANIC calls for the immediate arrest of former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo for documented judicial bribery (amongst many, many other crimes)

How many smoking guns do the feds need?

How much longer will we have to wait until this scumbag is arrested?

At this point, I believe a citizen's arrest may be called for, if the US Justice Department, the SEC, the FBI or the California Attorney General are all unwilling to do their jobs. Maybe Angelo bribed all of them too?

Angelo Mozilo will go to jail HP'ers. Eventually. For a long, long, long, long time. Take that to the bank. And watch for bit players like Richard Aldrich, the California judge that Mozilo bribed, to do some time too.

Here's the latest excellent expose from Portfolio. Also watch this report on CNBC.

Angelo's Many "Friends"

The Countrywide V.I.P.-loan scandal went far beyond a few members of Congress. An exclusive look inside C.E.O. Angelo Mozilo's secret effort to curry favor with lawmakers, politicians, and others who could influence the company's fortunes.

In January 2004, Richard Aldrich, a California state appeals court judge, decided to refinance his 8,200-square-foot house next to a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course at the Sherwood Country Club in Westlake Village. He turned to a prominent Sherwood member: Countrywide Financial chief executive Angelo Mozilo.

Aldrich’s application was assigned to a loan officer named Robert Feinberg; the judge was seeking a $1 million loan and a $900,000 line of credit. By email, Feinberg alerted Mozilo that the credit line was “above what guidelines allow.”

Mozilo responded, “Go ahead and approve the loan, and close it as soon as possible. Don’t worry about this deal, it’s golden.” Countrywide further waived half a point, or $5,000 on the million-dollar loan. (Homebuyers can reduce their interest rates by paying points, which are equal to 1 percent of the value of a loan.)

That wasn’t Aldrich’s only contact with Countrywide. At the time he refinanced, a class action lawsuit against Countrywide was pending before the appellate court, brought by borrowers contending that the company offered an inadequate payment to settle allegations that it charged excessive fees for credit reports. That August, Aldrich was part of a three-judge panel that unanimously rejected the borrowers’ appeal.

According to a person familiar with the case, Aldrich did not disclose his relationship with Countrywide to the plaintiffs or offer to recuse himself. California’s judicial code of ethics states that judges cannot accept gifts or favors from donors “whose interests have come or are reasonably likely” to come before them, nor can they take out a loan at better terms than are available to other borrowers. Reached by phone, Aldrich denied receiving a below-market loan and hung up.

FLASH: Angelo Mozilo's crimes are now BofA's problem as brain-dead CEO Ken Lewis completes deal for Countrywide Toxic Mortgage

Hi, BofA shareholders, I'd like you to meet Angelo and his corrupt posse at Countrywide Toxic Mortgage - your problem now!

Every state in the US has either filed a lawsuit against your new friends or is preparing to do so. The civil and criminal lawsuits will take years and years to sort out. You'll end up losing billions and billions more on this deal, and the Countrywide brand you bought is probably more worthless than Enron at this point.

But what the hey, a deal's a deal, and you own 'em now.

And BofA CEO Ken Lewis, who might not last the summer, is now a strong nominee for "Stupidest CEO in the World". He may think he can pawn off Countrywide's mess on the taxpayers, and thanks to Angelo's bribery he may well do that, but he won't be able to stop the lawsuits. No, he won't be able to stop the lawsuits.

Bank of America completes buy of Countrywide

Bank of America Corp. has completed its acquisition of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp., making BofA the country's largest mortgage lender.

Under the agreement, Countrywide shareholders received 0.1822 share of Bank of America stock in exchange for each share of Calabasas, Calif.-based Countrywide (NYSE: CFC).

When the deal was announced Jan. 11, it was valued at around $4 billion. However, Bank of America's stock price has since declined from $38.50 per share to Monday's closing price of $23.87 per share. Based on that drop, Bank of America paid about $2.5 billion for Countrywide.

Last week, Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) announced it would cut 7,500 jobs as part of its acquisition of Countrywide.

Former Countrywide manager: "You see some of the things that were going on, and you know it's just not right"

Angelo Mozilo, you sir are going to go to jail.

It's just a matter of time.

PEOPLE OF COUNTRYWIDE - GET OUT AND GET OUT NOW. COME CLEAN. TURN STATES EVIDENCE. LOYALTY TO THE ORANGE MAN IS STUPID. AND IF YOU'RE NOT OUT OF A JOB ALREADY, YOU WILL BE SOON.

COME CLEAN. DO IT NOW.


Former Countrywide manager speaks out

HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day

So, would you say that HP'ers have pretty much PWNED Angelo Mozilo by this point?

Or since he walked away with the money and stayed out of jail (so far), did he PWN us?

HOMEDEBTORS OF AMERICA - IF YOU HAVE A COUNTRYWIDE TOXIC LOAN AND A RAPIDLY DEPRECIATING HOME, JUST STOP. NO MORE PAYMENTS. NO MORE DEBT. JUST STOP

It wasn't "your home". It never was. You couldn't afford it. You never should have been approved for the loan. You probably committed mortgage fraud to get it. You got caught up in Angelo Mozilo's profit-at-any-cost mortgage-fraud-galore Ponzi Scheme. You believed The Big Lie. You believed debt equaled wealth. And you believed you could live like you were rich.

So let this be your wake up call. Your home is worth nowhere near what you paid. Nowhere near. Your choice now is to simply turn in the keys, walk away, start over and rent (for a fraction of the cost of 'owning'), or you can continue to live the Big Lie, because of your ego and your pride. And those swell granite counter tops of course.

Walk away Homedebtors. Send Angelo the keys. Get on with your lives.

This game is over.

And take some solace in the fact as you start your life over, Angelo Mozilo himself will soon be on his way to jail, his riches confiscated, his reputation in tatters.

Every dog has his day.

[UPDATE] FLASH: COUNTRYWIDE FRIED - ILLINOIS AND CALIFORNIA FILE LAWSUITS AGAINST MOZILO AND COUNTRYWIDE, WASHINGTON STATE TO PULL LICENSE

"Countrywide's conduct has contributed to the high number of foreclosures in Illinois and caused significant harm to the public, the market, and scores of Illinois borrowers and homeowners"

- The State of Illinois, from their civil lawsuit announced today against Countrywide Toxic Mortgage and Angelo Mozilo

(Meanwhile, screwed Countrywide shareholders vote on unloading this cancer to BofA later today...)

[UPDATE - CALIFORNIA JUST FILED THEIR LAWSUIT AGAINST COUNTRYWIDE JUST NOW. TWO STATES NOW IN, 48 TO GO. AND THE NOOSE TIGHTENS...]

[UPATE 2] - WASHINGTON STATE TO FINE COUNTRYWIDE AND ALSO PULL THEIR LICENSE

[UPDATE 3] - DESPERATE COUNTRYWIDE SHAREHOLDERS, HAVING LOST ALMOST EVERYTHING THANKS TO INSIDER-TRADING MOZILO, APPROVE FIRE SALE TO BANK OF AMERICA. BUT B0fA MOST LIKELY GOING TO WALK AWAY FROM THIS CANCER. NO, MAKE THAT RUN AWAY.

[UPDATE 4] - ANYONE SEEN ANGELO? LAST I HEARD THERE WAS AN ORANGE MAN IN A WHITE FORD BRONCO ON THE WAY TO MEXICO.

Yet Another MoziloGate Smoking Gun - BofA tells Dodd how to spin his mortgage lender bailout plan. Too bad (for Dodd) that the memo got leaked.

"We believe that any intervention by the federal government will be acceptable only if it is not perceived as a bailout of the bond market"

- Quote from leaked confidential BofA position paper that became Mozilo-corrupted Senator Dodd's BofA/Countrywide Bailout Bill, June 2008.

(Note that this paper states that over $1 trillion in US mortgages - which of course Countrywide wrote the most of - are currently at risk of default, and predicts that over $400 billion, or 43% of all subprime mortgages ever written, will default)

HousingPANIC URGENT Quote of the Day

"Meanwhile, until it is clear how much Countrywide will benefit from Senator Dodd’s proposed $300 billion mortgage rescue – and exactly how Mr. Dodd came to do business with Countrywide – Congress should call a halt to legislating bailouts. Taxpayers deserve no less."

- WSJ Editorial Page, June 2008

HousingPANIC "It's Feeling Like ENRON All Over Again Ain't It" Pre-Frog-March Intercepted E-mail Quote of the Day

"the subprime market looks pretty damn ugly… If we believe the [CDOs report is] ANYWHERE CLOSE to accurate I think we should close the funds now."

"The reason for this is that if [the CDO report] is correct then the entire supbrime market is toast… If AAA bonds are systematically downgraded then there is simply now way for us to make money — ever."

- Matthew Tannin, arrested Bear Stearns toxic mortgage hedge fund manager, from an intercepted email written in April 2007, as the funds collapsed and the managers denied any problems

Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi don't think MoziloGate hearings are necessary. HousingPANIC tells Reid and Pelosi to go f*ck themselves.

Vote 'em out HP'ers.

All of 'em (except Ron Paul)

Your leaders are corrupt.

DC needs an enema.

And Reid and Pelosi should be investigated as well.

Meanwhile, Dodd's $300 billion Countrywide/Housing Gambler giveaway is dead on arrival. And the GOP and Fox News are rallying on this issue as the corrupt Democrats fiddle.

Memo to McCain and Obama - you better get on the right side of MoziloGate in the next 24 hours, or you're in a heap of trouble yourselves.

Housing rescue bill could be slowed by Republicans

WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservative Republicans in the Senate were seeking to slow the completion of an election-year housing rescue designed to help hundreds of thousands of homeowners avoid foreclosure and boost lawmakers' standing with voters.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said Wednesday he was working on ways to stop the bill, which he said would "reward stupidity on the part of people who bought homes they couldn't afford."

Amid rising foreclosures and growing public anxiety about the sagging economy, Democrats and many Republicans were eager to push the bill through the Senate and could begin voting on it as early as Thursday. They hoped to send the bill to President Bush before Congress breaks for a weeklong July 4th vacation.

However, a group of conservative Republicans, including Coburn, threatened to block the measure in light of allegations that Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., one of its architects, and Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., received preferential mortgages from Countrywide Financial Corp. through a special program for friends of the embattled firm's CEO.

FLASH: FBI arrests over 300 realtors and mortgage brokers in mortgage fraud sweep. FINALLY!!! And only another million or so to go...

And after they're done arresting the realtors and mortgage brokers, they can move on to the millions of mortgage fraudsters. I think Casey Serin might still be in the country.

And then... of course... they can put the kingpin himself into the paddy wagon..

Angelo Mozilo - they're coming to get you!

(UPDATE: New classic frog-march image from today's headline story on HuffPo. FBI release here. Frog-march video here)

Hundreds swept up in mortgage fraud arrests

WASHINGTON - The FBI says it has arrested about 300 real estate brokers since March — including dozens over the last two days — in its crackdown on incidents of mortgage fraud that have contributed to the country's housing crisis.

One law enforcement official put the losses to homeowners and other borrowers who were victims in the schemes at over $1 billion.

The Justice Department and FBI plan to announce the recent arrests — including apprehensions in Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, and suburban Maryland — at a news conference set for Thursday afternoon in Washington.

Two former Bear Stearns managers in New York were also included in the sweep, becoming the first executives to face criminal charges related to the collapse of the subprime mortgage market.

HP EXCLUSIVE: John McCain has taken $1,000 from corrupt Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo. HP calls on McCain to return the toxic cash and disavow Mozilo

Not only should John McCain return the $1,000 in tainted cash given to him on March 26 of this year, he should disavow Mozilo's support, immediately call for a formal Senate investigation into Mozilo's bribing of McCain's fellow Senators, and he should vote against the Senate's laughably-corrupt $300 billion Angelo Mozilo and Housing Gambler Bailout Plan.

I find it especially interesting that McCain would accept cold hard cash from Mozilo, even after saying this about Obama's connection to former Fannie CEO James Johnson, who's now resigned:

“I think it suggests a bit of a contradiction talking about how his campaign is gonna be not associated with people like that. Clearly he is very much associated with that"

Being funded by Mozilo in this environment is like taking money from a drug dealer. And Mozilo's stench will be seen throughout the halls of power, once the investigations begin.

Enjoy the feeding frenzy on this on HP'ers. MoziloGate is gettin' fun...

Props to Newsmeat - the campaign donor search engine..

A Special HousingPANIC Message for Angelo Mozilo at Countrywide Toxic Mortgage

You, Angelo Mozilo, will come to represent all that was evil and all that was wrong with the Late Great Housing Ponzi Scheme and Mortgage Madness.

* You made fraudulent garbage loans to people you know couldn't pay them back, knowing you could pawn off your trash to unsuspecting hedge funds, investment banks, governments, pension funds and investors

* You knowingly enabled rampant mortgage fraud

* You enriched yourself to the tune of hundreds of millions by dumping your stock while at the same time you directed your company to buy back the stock at inflated prices on the open market

* You blatantly bribed public officials to look the other way, like James Johnson, Chris Dodd, Kent Conrad, Alphonso Jackson, Donna Shalala, Richard Holbroke, and who knows who else

* You ruined lives. You destroyed families. You damaged your company and your country. And you destroyed the world's trust in the American financial system.

* Above all, you did what you did so as to personally enrich yourself, at the destruction of others.

It will give us no joy to see you frog-marched off to jail. It will give us no joy when the day comes that you are finally convicted of your crimes. And it will give us no joy when you are sent off to prison for the rest of your life, probably at the same facility housing the last shamed bubble fraudster, Bernie Ebbers.

Angelo Mozilo, you are the poster boy for the Late Great Housing Bubble and Crash.

I hope it was worth it.

You are garbage. And you are going to jail for a long, long, long time.

The Wall Street Journal calls for a congressional investigation of corrupt Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo and his "Friends of Angelo" bribery scheme

Angelo Mozilo is so f*cked on so many fronts, I'm losing track.

And yet somehow The Orange One still walks the earth a free man.

I'm starting the "Angelo Mozilo Arrest Watch" today. Anyone want to predict how many more days until the cuffs come out?

Follow the money. Follow the money. It leads places that will shock even HP'ers...

Beltwaywide Financial

The Countrywide Financial sweetheart loan scandal continues to grow, spreading to Senators and other Beltway potentates. We are about to find out if Congress's passion for investigating business ethics extends to conflicts of interest and cash that involve fellow Members.

Take Senator Kent Conrad, the North Dakota Democrat whose office issued a Friday statement saying that "I never met Angelo Mozilo." What he did not say then but admitted under later questioning by a Journal reporter is that, although he may not have had a face-to-face meeting with the Countrywide CEO, Mr. Conrad had called Mr. Mozilo and asked for a loan.

The result was a discounted loan on his million-dollar beach house and a separate commercial loan of a type that residential lender Countrywide did not even offer to other customers, regardless of the rate.

Almost as breathtaking is Senator Conrad's attempt to use a charitable contribution for the estimated amount of any mortgage savings – $10,500 – to make the issue go away. So while the Senator says he did nothing wrong, now that his nonmistake has been discovered he'll nonetheless give away the nonspecial treatment cash. There is ample evidence here to warrant an investigation, including subpoenas for relevant documents.

The same goes for Senator Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.), who chairs the very Banking Committee responsible for drafting the laws that govern Countrywide's market. Mr. Dodd is still in denial mode, but so far no one has knocked down the Portfolio.com story that he received discounted loans as part of Countrywide's "Friends of Angelo" program.

In the week since the Journal revealed this program, the key questions have become clear: What did Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo receive – or think he would receive – in return for the friendly loans to politicians? And what did Mr. Mozilo get – or think he would get – in return for sweetheart loans to Fannie Mae CEOs Jim Johnson and Franklin Raines? Mr. Conrad says he called Mr. Mozilo at the suggestion of Mr. Johnson, a leading and long-time member of the Democratic Beltway establishment.

The relationship between Countrywide and Fannie Mae goes to the heart of the mortgage crisis. Fannie makes its money by borrowing vast sums at low rates (thanks to an implied taxpayer guarantee on its loans) and then using that cash to buy loans from mortgage originators like Countrywide. Fannie then holds the mortgages and earns interest on them, or pools them into securities for sale to investors.

For the sake of its shareholders and the taxpayers who are ultimately on the hook, Fannie should immediately launch an internal investigation into the terms offered to Countrywide, and exactly what role Messrs. Johnson and Raines played in the negotiation of these terms. Did these men exert any pressure on Fannie employees to do business with Countrywide?

Congress also needs a full accounting of the contacts between Countrywide and the politicians receiving favors from the lender. Did Countrywide ask for and receive assistance from the Friends of Angelo? With Senate Banking Chairman Dodd at the center of the scandal, ranking member Richard Shelby (R., Ala.) and House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D., Mass.) will have to lead the inquiry.

Meanwhile, until it is clear how much Countrywide will benefit from Senator Dodd's proposed $300 billion mortgage rescue – and exactly how Mr. Dodd came to do business with Countrywide – Congress should call a halt to legislating bailouts. Taxpayers deserve no less.

HousingPANIC Quote of the Day

"Make an exception due to the fact that the borrower is a senator"

- Angelo Mozilo, making sure powerful Democratic Senator Kent Conrad, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, got the "Angelo VIP Special Deal", after Sen. Conrad called him personally to ask for favors on a $1 million mortgage, April 2004

HousingPANIC calls for a Special Prosecutor investigation of all Congressional real estate transactions, and for the resignation of Sen. Chris Dodd

Follow the money...

Follow the money...

After this whole mess is all said and done, you'll be amazed at the level of corruption found in the halls of power in DC - and your state house too.

The REIC, led by Angelo Mozilo at Countrywide Toxic Mortgage, bought our leaders, ran roughshod over the American people, and made a run for the exits when the gettin' was still good.

Dodd, Conrad Tied to Special Mortgage Deals

Senator Christopher Dodd reportedly received two mortgages under a special Countrywide Financial Corporation, a program that gave preferential interest rates to so-called "friends" of the company`s chairman.

Dodd, a Democrat, is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.

A Conde Nast Portfolio magazine article says a total of $2,700 worth of points were waived on Dodd`s two mortgages.

The magazine said the company`s "V.I.P." program also included Senator Kent Conrad, who`s chairman of the Budget Committee and a member of the Finance Committee.

It says other participants were former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, and former U.N. ambassador and assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke.

A spokesman says Dodd, who`s Connecticut`s senior senator, did not seek any special treatment but did receive a competitive rate on his loans.

Doesn't BofA's Ken Lewis moving forward with Countrywide Toxic Mortgage seem kinda like Bush's Iraq clusterf*ck?

Rule #1: When you find yourself in a hole, quit digging

Rule #2: See rule #1

Bush blew hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars and tens of thousands of lives even after it was clear he screwed the pooch in Iraq. And he just kept digging, and digging, and digging, refusing to admit his mistake.

In the same vein, Ken Lewis at BofA knows that he'll be seen as a fool if he abandons Countrywide now, after pumping in a few billion earlier, but of course he's an even greater fool if he actually closes on this cancer, instead of cutting his losses and walking away.

Either way, assuming this disaster goes through, Ken Lewis will be fired from BofA, and BofA shareholders will get slaughtered, and it'll be because of Angelo Mozilo and his corrupt gang at Countrywide. The lawsuits, the jail sentences and the billions and billions in losses will keep coming. And coming. And coming. And Ken Lewis of course will say "we never saw it coming".

Well, we did. And Mr. Lewis, take our advice, if you know what's best for you and your shareholders:

Run.

Fast.

And don't look back.

A HousingPANIC Angelo Mozilo tribute: "Oompa, Loompa, doom-pa-dee-da. If you're not greedy, you will go far"

Oompa, Loompa, doom-pa-dee-da
If you're not greedy, you will go far
You will live in happiness too
Like the Oompa Loompa doom-pa-dee-do

Countrywide’s Mozilo Calls Borrower’s Plea “Disgusting”FOXBusiness

Countrywide's Mozilo stinks at mortgages & emailBaltimore Sun

In reply to e-mail, Countrywide CEO criticizes plea for loan helpUSA Today

Countrywide CEO Mozilo's e-mail sets off furoreReuters

Mozilo on distressed borrower's appeal for help: "disgusting"Los Angeles Times

MOZILO'S HEARTLESS E-MAILNew York Post

Countrywide, Mozilo in Hot Water Over Troubled Borrower FlapHousing Wire

LET THEM EAT CAKE! Angelo Mozilo (Angelo_Mozilo@countrywide.com) has just discovered the power of the internets (and the 'reply all' button)

Gotta feel a bit sorry for the Great Orange One. He's gonna go to jail, we all know that. He's gonna have his assets seized, we all know that. His company is going to go bankrupt and all his employees are going to lose their jobs, and some will go to jail too, we all know that. And what's left of his reputation has been destroyed, we all know that.

But now, on top of EVERYTHING that has gone wrong for him lately, he stupidly hits "reply all" to a desperate homedebtor's anguished email, calls him disgusting, blames blogs and the internets, and is exposed by the MSM worldwide for the cold, heartless, corrupt fool he is.

LET THEM EAT CAKE!!!!

Make sure you send Angelo and crew a nice letter too HP'ers. I'm sure he'll enjoy it.

Here's Angelo's response on the original LoanSafe thread that exposed him, and internal Countrywide email cc list that some might enjoy having their hands on:

Angelo_Mozilo@countrywide.com wrote:
This is unbelievable. Most of these letters now have the same wording. Obviously they are being counseled by some other person or by the internet. Disgusting.

And here's the LA Times covering the mess. Oh, this will be fun.

Countrywide Financial Chairman Angelo Mozilo's e-mail sets off a furor - He calls a borrower's plea for help a "disgusting" example of form letters inundating the Calabasas mortgage lender.

Apparently clicking "reply" when he meant to hit "forward," Countrywide Financial Corp. Chairman Angelo Mozilo ignited an online furor Tuesday by describing a mortgage customer's plea for help as a "disgusting" example of form letters inundating the Calabasas home lender.

Mozilo's e-mail rocketed back to the customer, Daniel Bailey Jr., who had asked Countrywide to modify the terms of his loan so he wouldn't lose his home of 16 years.