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)

Here's the congressional invite sent to Countrywide Toxic Mortgage's King of Insider Trading and Mortgage Fraud, The Orange Man himself, Angelo Mozilo

February 7th can't come soon enough.

Get that Jiffy Pop a poppin! And feel free to give Waxman a call (number below) with some suggested lines of questioning.

We've hoped and predicted for years that our corrupted Congress would hold hearings on the housing crash and corrupt Real Estate Industrial Complex in 2008, leading up to the election. And away we go. I wonder if Angelo will be taking the 5th?

Mr. Angelo R. Mozilo
Chairman and CEO
Countrywide Financial Corporation
4500 Park Granada
Calabasas, CA 91302

Dear Mr. Mozilo:

I am writing to request your testimony at a hearing on February 7, 2008, before the Committee on Oversight and Govemment Reform. The hearing will address executive compensation and severance arrangements for CEOs involved in the ongoing mortgage crisis.

According to recent press reports, if Bank of America completes its proposed purchase of Countrywide Financial, you stand to collect tens of millions of dollars in severance payments and other compensation. I request that you be prepared to provide your perspective on this reported pay package.

You should plan to address how it aligns with the interests of Countrywide’s shareholders and whether this level of compensation is justified in light of your company’s recent performance and its role in the national mortgage crisis.

The Committee on Oversight and Govemment Reform is the principal oversight committee in the House of Representatives and has broad oversight jurisdiction as set forth in House Rule X. An attachment to this letter provides additional information about testifying before the Committee.

If you have any questions regarding this letter, please contact Roger Sherman or David Leviss of the Committee staff at (202) 225-5051.

Sincerely,

Henry A. Waxman
Chairman

France 1789. America 2008. Louis XVI. Angelo Mozilo. When will we hear chants of "OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!!"?

Mozilo shouldn't just be worried about the SEC. He shouldn't just be worried about irate laid-off Countrywide employees. He shouldn't just be worried about CFC shareholders who lost everything. He shouldn't just be worried about the thousands and thousands who got pushed into toxic loans so he could earn higher commissions. And he shouldn't just be worried about his future boyfriends in jail.

No, with his level of naked greed and corruption, he and others in the REIC and government should now be worried about the guillotine. Now we just need a Robespierre.

The good news is that the prosecutors were able to seize Bernie Ebbers assets and ill-gotten-gains during his downfall, and I hope that they'll be able to do the same with The Orange One. This is just sick.

Lavish Payout, Perks for Failed Mortgage CEO - His Severance Package Includes Jet Use, Country Club Dues and a Hefty Payout

Angelo Mozilo, the co-founder and public face of troubled mortgage giant Countrywide, is eligible for tens if not hundreds of millions in compensation and perks on the sale of the company to Bank of America.

During calendar 2006, the latest period available for review in Securities and Exchange Commission filings, Mozilo took home $48.1 million in compensation. An early analysis of SEC filings by the Los Angeles Times suggests he could get upward of $115 million when he leaves after the sale is complete, despite the fact that the company tanked during the recent subprime mortgage crisis.

Immediately upon a change in control, Mozilo would get $13.3 million in accelerated vesting of stock grants, according to the terms of his 2004 compensation agreement, included in the company's latest proxy statement.

Should he leave the company after the firm's buyout, Mozilo would get a one-time cash payment of $88 million.

FLASH: FINALLY!!! North Carolina Treasurer calls for SEC investigation of Angelo Mozilo's insider stock trades at Countrywide Toxic Mortgage

Ya gotta hope the SEC was already investigating Mozilo and the goings-on at Countrywide.

But then again, like most of our institutions, they're probably run by monkeys too.

Three cheers for NC Treasurer Richard Moore. Hopefully this is the start of something good. And yes, like Mozilo, I'm short CFC. And hat-tip to mlimplode for the image - get your shirts over there!

N.C. Treasurer Seeks SEC Probe of Countrywide CEO Stock Trade

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- State Treasurer Richard Moore has asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate the timing of stock sales made by the chief executive of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp.

Moore, the trustee of a pension fund that holds more than $11 million in Countrywide shares, said in an Oct. 8 letter to SEC Chairman Christopher Cox that he was "shocked" to learn that CEO Angelo Mozilo "apparently manipulated his trading plans to cash in" as the subprime crisis was heating up.

"As one of many investors who have felt the painful losses in Countrywide stock, I am outraged at his manipulation of the system and this abuse of shareholders," Moore wrote. "The timing of these sales and the changes to the trading plans raise serious questions about whether this is mere coincidence."

Moore cited reports that Mozilo was unloading 4.9 million Countrywide shares worth more than $138 million between November 2006 and August 2007. Moore said that at least three times over five months starting in October 2006, Mozilo reportedly changed the plans that outline how many of his shares would be sold monthly. That, said Moore, allowed the CEO to sell the stock before prices fell dramatically.