Wednesday, March 03, 2010

The Motz Matter

Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snow
Lies the seed that with the sun’s love,
In the spring, becomes a rose.

-- Bette Midler

It’s always a surprise that people lie to each other. There’s no question that this ridiculous sense of betrayal harks back to those days when we learned that our friends fudged and parents actually just sold us out. Since then, the downhill slide may have been more dramatic but a lot less surprising.

Mayor Motz was popular in Quogue. His wife was the head judge. His son aspired to public office. He was adored by some, respected by others, vilified by those who lived outside of Quogue. It’s still a Village where you have to studiously observe the speed limit – unless you live there. And, we won’t delve into a recent imbroglio involving an accident that most locals know about where people died. Let sleeping dogs lie.

So, here’s the deal: Motz was basically charged with switching tickets. Essentially, the attribution for trades was held in abeyance until everything was settled at the end of the day. ILLEGAL.

But, get this. Goldman Sachs does trades in nanoseconds. By computer, trades are done BEFORE they are attributed to the buyer or seller – and the advantage is attributed to Goldman. NOT ILLEGAL. Forget the fact that GS has destabilized Greece.

Is Goldman being investigated? Are they being indicted, arrested and forced to take pleas for trades where the firm inures to the firm’s advantage. And, who may I ask, is reporting this. The Southampton Press, Newsday? Anyone?

Makes you wonder what THEY afraid of?