Senators aim to confirm bailout watchdog by end of week (Neil Barofsky)

[lanlady]

Source: Government Executive

Senators aim to confirm bailout watchdog by end of week
By Elizabeth Newell [e-mail] November 19, 2008

Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said on Wednesday that he hopes to have Neil Barofsky, nominee to be the special inspector general for the financial system's bailout, confirmed by the end of this week.

Banking Committee members had an opportunity to ask Barofsky questions at a nomination hearing on Wednesday and expressed similar concerns to those voiced at Monday's hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. A number of senators said they have lingering anxiety that the special inspector general might not have full authority to oversee the bailout as it evolves on a near-daily basis, but none expressed doubts about Barofsky's qualifications.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called Barofsky "the right guy for the job" and several senators thanked him for stepping up to what undoubtedly will be an overwhelming oversight task.



Read more: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1108/112008e1.htm

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Anyone here know something about this Barofsky? Is he legit?

[Ian David]

1. I dunno...

[Ian David]

2. Who is Neil Barofsky, And Can We Trust Him To Watch the 700 Billion Dollar Cookie Jar?

Who is Neil Barofsky, And Can We Trust Him To Watch the 700 Billion Dollar Cookie Jar?
By: Stirling Newberry Sunday November 16, 2008 12:03 pm

<snip>

What is obvious, or should be, is that the system was corrupt from top to bottom, from the sex used to push mortgage packaging, up through Freddie Mac fraud too large even for the nearly toothless SEC to overlook.

As fights loom this week over both the fate of the Big 3, it would be easy to lose sight of whether the nomination of Neil Barofsky will go forward. But given the people invited to speak, it's not exactly a balanced presentation of the issues. Scheduled up are Hank Paulson, Ben Bernanke, and a gaggle of people representing those who are going to be regulated, but no one to represent those who are supposed to be protected. Mr. Barofsky was, at least, involved with mortgage and securities fraud work when he was with the Southern District of New York, at a time when the politicized Justice Department was cutting back on white collar crime enforcement to engage in vote fraud.

It should be clear that a more balanced look at the nominee is needed, he is going to be the Watchman for the single largest emergency spending spree in global history.

Fortunately, the President-elect was ahead of the curve in sponsoring mortgage fraud legislation, and while there is only one President at one time, this would be a good chance for still Senator Obama to make his views known, even if quietly, on enforcement of the very troubled TARP program.

More:
http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/16/who-is-neil-barofsky-and-can-we-trust-him-to-watch-the-700-billion-dollar-cookie-jar/

[lanlady]

4. good info

thanks for posting. Though he still seems to be an unknown entity.

[Ian David]

3. Neil Barofsky From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Neil Barofsky
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Neil Barofsky is a current assistant U.S. attorney and nominee for Special Treasury Department Inspector General to oversee the Troubled Asset Relief Program. As of November 2008, he is 38 years old. <1>

Recent Career

Neil M. Barofsky currently serves as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York. He is the chief of the office's mortgage fraud group and was the lead prosecutor in the $2.4 billion accounting-fraud case against former executives of the collapsed financial firm Refco.

Troubled Asset Relief Program and Special Inspector Generalship

The job of overseeing the TARP now is being handled by the Treasury Department's inspector general, Eric Thorson, who has expressed concerns about the difficulty of properly overseeing the complex program in addition to his regular responsibilities. <2>

Barofsky was nominated by Bush on November 14, 2008. <3>

As of Wednesday, November 19, 2008, his nomination is undergoing confirmation by the US Senate Finance Committee.

More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Barofsky

[Ian David]

5. Neil Barofsky

Neil Barofsky - detailed lawyer profile with ratings and reviews ...
http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/10007-ny-neil-barofsky-939797.html

News Release
May 31, 2006
Contact: DEA Public Affairs

Violent Colombian Heroin Kingpin Sentenced to 40 Years in Federal Prison
Leader Of South American Heroin Cartel Smuggled An Estimated $200 Million Worth Of Heroin Into The U.S. And Used Torture and Intimidation to Control Criminal Enterprise

<snip>

The case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office’s International Narcotics Trafficking Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys NEIL M. BAROFSKY and MARC P. BERGER are in charge of the prosecution.

More:
http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/states/newsrel/nyc053106.html




Justice for Hoaxers' Threats Has a Court System Divided
By BENJAMIN WEISER\
Published: June 9, 2002

On May 31, Kenneth Harrell went before a federal judge in Manhattan to be sentenced for a cruel hoax. Calling himself by an Arab name, Mr. Harrell had posted an Internet message last Sept. 12, one day after the attack on the World Trade Center, threatening to bomb the World Series and kill 60,000 people. ''It is about time you Americans get what you deserve!'' he wrote. ''The job isn't done.''

<snip>

At sentencing, the prosecutor, Neil M. Barofsky, recalled the rescue and recovery effort in the days after Sept. 11, the transcript shows, and said the consequence of Mr. Harrell's threat ''was sadly predictable.'' He added that it was a ''significant diversion of law enforcement at the time we could least afford.''

It took three F.B.I. agents and two police officers eight days to investigate the threat, he said. They also searched for people named Alik Aman. At one point, Mr. Barofsky said, F.B.I. agents and police officers converged at a house belonging to someone by that name, ''surely terrifying the innocent inhabitants,'' he said. (The innocent Alik Aman who lived there had moved.)

Mr. Barofsky also cited Mr. Harrell's use of an Arab name to hide his identity, ''without any concern for the Arab-Americans who were implicated by the message.''

A sentence of home detention, Mr. Barofsky said, ''would be an insult'' to the families of Sept. 11 victims, and ''a slap in the face'' to law- enforcement officers whose jobs were made harder by Mr. Harrell's crime.

More:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940CEEDD133DF93AA35755C0A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all




2nd Circuit Expands 'Apprendi' Rule in Drug Cases
Tom Perrotta
New York Law Journal
August 26, 2005

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has expanded the application of the U.S. Supreme Court's Apprendi holding in drug cases, ruling that drug quantities must be proved to a jury or admitted by a defendant for every aggravated drug offense, not only those that result in upward departures beyond the maximum prison sentence.

The ruling in U.S. v. Gonzalez, 03-1356, by Judge Reena Raggi, is the latest in a line of cases following the Supreme Court ruling in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000), which held that jurors, not judges, must determine facts used to increase criminal sentences beyond the statutory maximum.

<snip>

Tracy W. Young and Lisa Scolari represented Gonzalez. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Roberto Finzi and Neil M. Barofsky represented the government.

More:
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1124960711623

[aquart]

6. Schumer likes him?

Oh, goody.

[sarcasmo]

7. I bet the money is already stolen. Sitting on the Bush land in Paraguay.