In an April 28, 2010 Senate subcommittee hearing, Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.)
grilled Daniel Sparks, former head of Goldman Sachs mortgage department,
about an email that Sparks received from Thomas Montag, Goldman’s
former head of sales and trading. In the June 22, 2007 email, Montag made
reference to a series of mortgage-backed investments Goldman was selling
to its customers as one “shi**y deal.” Sen. Levin noted that
even after the date of the email Goldman continued to sell the same investments
to customers. Quite naturally, Goldman officials didn’t tell those
customers that it was a shi**y deal.
Sparks continued to deny that the email said precisely what it meant.
Instead, he claimed that the email had to be put into context. Sen. Levin
observed that the context was “mighty clear,” and asked Sparks
if he was at all bothered by the fact that Goldman continued to sell the
investments after June 22 with knowledge that it was a bad (fooled you!)
deal for the customer.
If corporate greed makes you wince, in the immediate future you should
refrain from watching TV and reading newspapers.
Goldman Sachs Faces Civil Fraud Charges, Colorado Business Litigation Blog, April 19, 2010