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1 of the 2 Administrative Judges at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Vowed NEVER to Let a Complainant Win. He's Kept His Promise for 20 Years

George Washington's picture




 

Washington’s Blog

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an important agency. It is largely responsible for regulating derivatives and other important instruments.

It is supposed to prevent and prosecute fraud.

So it is stunning that one of the two administrative judges for the CFTC has written and filed a "Notice and Order" saying:

There are two administrative law judges at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission: myself and the Honorable Bruce Levine. On Judge Levine's first week on the job, nearly twenty years ago, he came into my office and stated that he had promised Wendy Gramm, then Chairwoman of the Commission, that we would never rule in a complainant's favor. A review of his rulings will confirm that he has fulfilled his vow. Judge Levine, in the cynical guise of enforcing the rules, forces pro se complaints to run a hostile procedural gauntlet until they lose hope, and either withdraw their complaint or settle for a pittance, regardless of the merits of the case.

***

In light of these unfortunate facts, if I simply announced my intention to retire, the seven reparation cases on my docket would be reassigned to the only other administrative law judge of the Commission, Judge Levine. This I cannot do in good conscience. Accordingly, I recommend that the Commission request ... the services of an administrative law judge to be detailed to the Commission from [another] agency ....

 

 

 

Wendy Gramm is the wife
of former Senator Phil Gramm (one of the main sponsors of the
Commodities Futures Modernization Act 2000, which kept derivatives
largely deregulated), and was heavily involved in the Enron scandal (see
this and this).

Update:  The Wall Street Journal has a piece
out today claiming that Judge Painter is senile and more than a little
nuts.  I don't know whether or not that is true.  But the 2000 Wall
Street Journal article which Painter attaches to his Notice and Order
does seem to show that - at least as of 2000 - Levine always ruled
against the Complainant in cases where the Respondent showed up.

Judge Painter's claims can easily be
checked by reporters by searching the CFTC database, and by speaking
with Complainants who appeared before Judge Levine. You can start here.

H/t Karl Denninger and Daily Bell.

 

 

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Thu, 10/21/2010 - 02:01 | 666181 Tic tock
Tic tock's picture

..although saying that, it does present an idea - why not move Jerusalem, stone-by-stone, to the United States; create Israel as a state inside the contintental US. The two governments were made to be together. That's what started the idea and the more i think about it, the fewer reasons i can find against it: land of milk and honey (cows and bees), check. Lebensraum, check. ..seriously, take all the archaeological heritage, just like in Iraq, the only thing left would be the grave of Moses, oh wait, theoretically that wouldn't be in Israel.. my scripture is not exactly pukka on that point. Anyway, it would be a godsend to the US economy, probably the only thing that could save it, aside fro the kindness of foreigners. 

Thu, 10/21/2010 - 01:44 | 666173 Tic tock
Tic tock's picture

what a class-A fuck-up of a government

Thu, 10/21/2010 - 01:25 | 666150 sbenard
sbenard's picture

What on earth does Wendy Gramm have to do with Judge Levine? Was that a mistake?

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 23:42 | 666006 New World Chaos
New World Chaos's picture

They are a giant, parasitic superorganism.  That's why, for them, it is always about connections and control.  (woops- meant for f16hoser)

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 23:21 | 665982 Jeffrey Lebowski
Jeffrey Lebowski's picture

PUHLEEEEEASE ! This of course stinks to the high heavens, but it is NO surprise to a majority of us. The game is as crooked as a dogs hind leg and has been for a long, long time.

Surprisingly, (since I saw the link)  the dipshit denninger writes one of his missives on how were not a republic anymore, he is THE LAST TO KNOW ABOUT IT !... LOL Hey deninger, were ya been? Your the most naive bastard that EVER had anything to do with a financial blog.... You wont believe it even when the man himself tells you to your face....

 

the "ego" has landed         in florida somewhere

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 23:13 | 665968 Godisanhftbot
Godisanhftbot's picture

 The peeple put up with this shite because 90% of them are running their own scam.

 Squatters claiming the paperwork is faulty on their homes, so they don't have to pay.

 Folks retiring on sickeningly fat pensions for 20  or 30 years of medicore performance.

 If the peeple were righteous, this would have ended long ago.

 They are not.

 

 

 

Thu, 10/21/2010 - 01:50 | 666177 drwells
drwells's picture

Bingo. No one wants freedom or justice, they want security and a cut of the take. This has taken decades and it couldn't be reversed any more quickly - not that it will be.

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 22:42 | 665909 Kina
Kina's picture

You would have to say the US is totally stuffed.

 

Financial system totally corrupt.

Regulatory system totally corrupt.

Judicial system corrupt.

Political system and politicians mostly corrupt.

MainStreamMedia mostly corrupt, the tool of the above.

 

Sorry America but you are owned and managed by the scum. The only way out is the reset button and that may require a total financial collapse. Maybe it is what you should wish for.

Someboyd who has lost money because of market manipulation needs to bring a case against the CFTC for damages because of deliberate neglect of duty, to get the ball rolling and bring it out into the open, even if the case has little chance of winning.

 

And you can continue to see the CFTC's corruption by watching the Gold and Silver market as they allow its rampant manipulation.

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 22:17 | 665876 onlooker
onlooker's picture

Milestones----- yeah, been to the state supremes. good luck

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 22:17 | 665872 Kina
Kina's picture

Amazing. Whenever you find something vile you can be sure the same old names will pop up. Gramm is synonomous with ryhms with bum.

And the important question is when in promising W Gramm was it by request, order, before or after his appointment to the position or did he simply thought he would make that promise (and assumed it would make Gramm happy?). This would be a crime of course, perverting a judged and justice, procuring a crime as it were. So that questions should be asked and then draw a line back to where the request may have originally come, if it was a request.

There are two administrative law judges at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission: myself and the Honorable Bruce Levine. On Judge Levine's first week on the job, nearly twenty years ago, he came into my office and stated that he had promised Wendy Gramm, then Chairwoman of the Commission, that we would never rule in a complainant's favor.

Now what should happen is every case bought before the CFTC be scrutinised, an inquiry held, witnesses called and so forth.

And, who tried to murder the whistleblower, wonder if the CFTC can tell us that too?

 

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 22:52 | 665935 Fred Hayek
Fred Hayek's picture

Exactly.

In one possible scenario, according to what Painter says, Wendy Gramm could have been stopping by Levine's office or talking to him and making no effort to direct his future rulings when jackass judge Levine, in a bit of bravado says, "I promise you that I'll never rule in favor of any complainant!".  She might have even thought that was over the top and disliked it for all we know.

The other scenario is Wendy Gramm asking or demanding from Levine a promise that he'll always rule against complainants. 

Posters are presuming it's the former but we don't know that it's not the latter.

 

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 22:12 | 665865 Richard Whitney
Richard Whitney's picture

It is certain that Hell will soon have an overpopulation problem

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 22:06 | 665857 knightmare
knightmare's picture

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405270230401160457556461064666383...

Case Sheds Light on Judge By SARAH N. LYNCH

WASHINGTON—An administrative law judge at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission heard and decided cases during a period when his wife said he struggled with mental illness and alcoholism, court records show.

Administrative law judge George H. Painter, 83 years old, issued rulings as recently as Feb. 26, 2010. A range of medical problems led to a 21-day stay in a geriatric psychiatric ward in June, according to Montgomery County (Md.) Circuit Court records filed by his wife's lawyer. Those records were filed in an effort by his wife to seek guardianship over the judge.

Nicholas J. Schor, an Olney, Md., psychiatrist, wrote on Aug. 26, 2010, that Judge Painter's disability was "profound" and it prevented him from making or communicating any responsible decisions, according to court records.

Judge Painter's lawyer, Jean Galloway Ball, said in an interview he is capable of "managing his person and property." A CFTC spokesman declined to comment.

The disclosure comes as the CFTC takes on a bigger role due to the Dodd-Frank financial-regulation law passed in July. The law gives the CFTC broad authority to tighten regulation over some of the financial instruments blamed for contributing to the 2008 financial crisis.

The agency's two administrative law judges have seen their role diminish in recent years. The CFTC can ask the Merit Systems Protection Board, an independent body in the executive branch, to remove or suspend an administrative law judge. Matt Shannon, a board official, said it doesn't have a record of any such request against Judge Painter.

In a separate action, a document dated Sept. 17 and signed by Judge Painter said the other administrative law judge, Bruce Levine, is biased against investors. The document said Judge Levine forces plaintiffs without legal representation "to run a hostile gauntlet until they lose hope."

Judge Levine declined to comment, but a former colleague defended Judge Levine's record and said he is fair.

Judge Painter's wife, Elizabeth Ritter, is a longtime lawyer at the CFTC. She and Judge Painter are in the middle of divorce proceedings, which the judge initiated.

Ms. Ritter's attorney, Kim Viti Fiorentino, said Ms. Ritter is just trying to take care of her ailing husband and that he should be able to receive "the kind of care and treatment and loving oversight that she thinks he deserves."

The judge's son, Douglas Painter, and a niece said in legal filings protesting the guardianship claim that the judge doesn't exhibit the mental problems described in court records by his wife. Judge Painter's lawyer, Ms. Galloway Ball, said he intends to fight the guardianship case.

"We are disputing the need for the establishment of a guardian and disputing that he suffers from Alzheimer's," said Ms. Galloway Ball.

In the Sept. 17 document, Judge Painter said he plans to step down in January and asked the agency to transfer his pending cases to an outside judge instead of Judge Levine.

Judge Painter has six cases pending before him, with total claims adding up to a little more than $1 million, according to a CFTC spokesman.

In June, doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital diagnosed the judge as having "probable Alzheimer's type dementia with behavioral disturbance," according to a discharge statement in court records.

"His wife states that although he has been getting a full-time paycheck, he mainly sleeps at work," according to the Johns Hopkins medical records that also cite an interview with Judge Painter's wife.

The son's legal filing contains results of a 30-question medical test, conducted by a geriatric-care manager and dated July 1, 2010, that describes Judge Painter as mentally competent.

A guardianship petition filed by Ms. Ritter on Aug. 30 says a Georgetown Hospital doctor first diagnosed Judge Painter with "cognitive impairment, alcoholism and depression" in March 2008. Before that, his wife said the judge "began to exhibit significant and abnormal behavioral changes" and he started "drinking up to eight martinis a day" in 2007.

Thu, 10/21/2010 - 00:55 | 666116 strannick
strannick's picture

 

Better hope your on good terms with your wife if you criticize the CFTC, otherwise they'll get the Wall Street Journal to interview her.

Obviously the WSJ reporter, Sarah N. Lynch, is decended from a family of Lynch mobs.

'when his wife said he struggled with mental illness and alcoholism'' and 'said the judge began to exhibit significant and abnormal behavioral changes"

 

 

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 23:56 | 666032 tallystick
tallystick's picture

Levine's  record stands on it's own merits. No amount of hit pieces on the messenger can change  that.

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 22:10 | 665863 TheGoodDoctor
TheGoodDoctor's picture

No effects from the job as to why he started hitting the martinis? Hmmm.

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 22:03 | 665853 Sean7k
Sean7k's picture

Nice piece GW. If he is senile, he must have someone else writing the order, as it appears pretty lucid to me. Sounds like a WSJ hit piece to me as well. 

Hmm, crooked judge...Clarence Thomas, ex counsel for monsanto wrote the majority opinion in favor of patents for genetically modified seeds...Go to any court, if you find an honest judge-their rulings will be appealed and changed. 

There is no justice in America, just the facade. Who puts a government run court in position to rule on the actions of the same government? Fox...henhouse...How ignorant are people?

We live in a totalitarian state- deal with it.

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 22:02 | 665852 Milestones
Milestones's picture

Onlooker, I hear ya on that sentiment. I have a Pro Se appeal pending in front of the Colorado Supreme Court right now over a judge's power that far exceeds the rule of law.    Milestones

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 21:57 | 665845 f16hoser
f16hoser's picture

Fuck crooked judges. He should be brought-up on charges! Hope he bought PM's the whole time! His rich if he did!

 

Hang Phil Gramm to while you're at it. That piece of crap did his share to screw-up the financial markets http://losangeles.injuryboard.com/miscellaneous/the-subprime-mess-and-phil-gramm-an-experiment-in-deregulation.aspx

 

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 22:17 | 665877 f16hoser
f16hoser's picture

Isn't it funny how everyone involved is tied together in some way? Weird

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 22:58 | 665941 sumo
sumo's picture

Oligarchy, dude. Membership has its benefits.

For everyone else, there's food stamps.

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 21:54 | 665842 goldfreak
Wed, 10/20/2010 - 21:52 | 665839 tony bonn
tony bonn's picture

levine was appointed by bush and bush runs the cia....it was the goal of the cia in the 1950s to infiltrate every single government agency to control it. read col. fletcher prouty on the subject on how this task was largely complete by the early 1960s. the banksters / ruling elite (e.g. rockefeller assholes) control the cia. levine was appointed for the very purpose of cia control. those cameras at every traffic light were ordered by the nazi party (rockefeller assholes).

thank god for judgment day and the kingdom of god which will not have the likes of such scum in its presence. god has expressed might indignation for rulers who fail to rule justly. i will be hiding in a black hole when asshole levine comes up for evaluation.

 

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 21:39 | 665824 onlooker
onlooker's picture

Crooked Judges are a fact of life. They have law enforcement, the good old boys, the DA, and all the lawyers in town to protect them. The most dangerous animal is not a politician but a judge. Seldom are they brought down. And, one must take care in opposing a crooked judge. This is from my own experience, not hear say.

 

Some stock brokers are uncontrolled, and buyer should beware. You can loose millions. It can be a very crooked game. Not my opinion, up close and personal.

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 23:52 | 666029 twittering as s...
twittering as stocktradr's picture

"Some stock brokers are uncontrolled," a given.
"buyer should beware."  a given.
"You can loose millions." a given.
"It can be a very crooked game." a given.

the facts of trading.

a fact. a given.

a trader trading a complete trading plan will continuously make more money than one loses.

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 21:25 | 665801 contrabandista13
contrabandista13's picture

Levine is a miserable cock sucker...  You can all rest assured and know happily that he will die like the miserable and pathetic cock sucker that he is...

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 21:05 | 665773 TraderTimm
TraderTimm's picture

Nice one, Mr. Washington.

 

Don't get "tubbed", dude.

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 21:03 | 665769 williambanzai7
williambanzai7's picture

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 21:02 | 665766 NorthenSoul
NorthenSoul's picture

If judicial remedies cannot work, what's left?

The powers that be should ponder this question long and hard if they know what's good for them.

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 20:59 | 665760 Al Gorerhythm
Al Gorerhythm's picture

Bart Chilton was going to go public with a statement on the silver manipulation and position limits. Let's see if his balls are big enough to step further out into the light and make comment on this. 

I don't know if this fellow has just signed his death warrant or has bought himself some protection against a late night visit. 

I sent this to Bill Murphy at GATA. One more piece of the JENGA tower is removed. 

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 20:56 | 665753 gwar5
gwar5's picture

The CFTC had a $1 Trillion meltdown in 1998 with LTCM. The head of the CFTC just prior to that warned 8 weeks before it happened that a meltdown could occur because of lack of oversight in the dark markets. Her name was Brooksley Borne.

She was run out of Washington just 8 weeks before the collapse actually arose. The people that used congress to run her out of Washington just before it actually happened? Alan Greenspan, Robert Rubin, Timothy Geithner, and Larry Summers. Greenspan actually told her fraud is acceptable. ("The Warning" - PBS, available online, 90 min.)

Brooksley Borne got a token Kennedy Medal of Freedom in 2007 for her 'efforts'. But the bad guys won and are still there.

.

 

 

 

 

 

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 20:54 | 665746 TheGoodDoctor
TheGoodDoctor's picture

Yeah I read this today. I can't hardly believe it. Will postion limits actually be determined if ever?

Wasn't Wendy Gramm involved in Enron too? What a joke.

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 20:53 | 665744 Madcow
Madcow's picture

obeying the law is for the little people - 

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 20:56 | 665741 Careless Whisper
Careless Whisper's picture

ms gramm's experience at cftc and on enron's audit committee makes her one of the most qualified persons to be the next treasury secretary.

and props to judge bruce levine. he kept his word for 20 years.

 

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 22:42 | 665921 Fred Hayek
Fred Hayek's picture

Krugman advised Enron.  Yeah, it was only in a peripheral sort of getting money for doing nothing way but, for a guy like Krugman who shows no intellectual integrity and slants every argument with incomplete or misleading facts, being described as "Enron adviser Paul Krugman" would be a bit of justice.

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 20:51 | 665733 followreason
followreason's picture

WSJ has a piece out today that paints Judge Painter as a mentally ill, alcoholic-cum-Alzheimer's patient:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405270230401160457556461064666383...

Thu, 10/21/2010 - 00:08 | 666047 drwells
drwells's picture

"WSJ has a piece out today that paints Judge Painter as a mentally ill, alcoholic-cum-Alzheimer's patient:"

Which IMO merely lends credibility to his accusations. When the spin whores get their knives out you know someone stepped over the line.

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 22:13 | 665868 TheDriver
TheDriver's picture

I wonder if the crazy old drunk judge will be smart enough to avoid hot tubs.

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 20:57 | 665754 TheGoodDoctor
TheGoodDoctor's picture

WSJ has a hit piece out today......

Fixed

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 20:56 | 665750 Da Canuck
Da Canuck's picture

... the minimum requirements to get a job at the CFTC.

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 22:24 | 665887 Kina
Kina's picture

All the corrupt scum in damage control.

 

The CFTC SEC and Vampire Squid should be held down, throats cut open and hung from a tree till they stink.

Then all those that have lost money can sue the CFTC for loss due to criminal negligence - deliberate failure to discharge a staturtory duty.

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 20:51 | 665720 Da Canuck
Da Canuck's picture

You've gotta love the respectable way that he refers to the slimeball judge,

the Honorable Bruce Levine

... and he probably thinks of himself as honorable now too. Unbelievable.

Should this not spark a review or reversal of all Levine's decisions over the last 20 years, or maybe a class action lawsuit against the CFTC by all affected parties? Don't hold your breath.


Wed, 10/20/2010 - 20:45 | 665717 Rainman
Rainman's picture

Wendy Gramm's husband, former Sen. Phil Gramm, championed the Commodities Futures Modernization Act 2000....the evil twin to the gutting of Glass-Steagall. Bubba's last Prezidential stand. Nice job. Trillions in off exchange derivatives trading like baseball cards. Oil specs gone wild, energy futures ( thank you Enron ) and much much more.

We are far too busy snarking the SEC when the CFTC is an even stinkier pile of manure. It's Wild West in there. They won't even pretend to care about rules. At least SEC will frag a few with hand slaps now and then. Squid in full control of this one. 

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 22:16 | 665761 Cdad
Cdad's picture

No mystery here.  When you think about how commodities and futures can run contrary to all fundamentals, it is no mystery that the regulators within are corrupt. 

We are talking systemic corruption here.  That is why the Obama Admin is trying to close this chapter as quickly as possible despite how the victims of banking/broker systemic fraud are supposed to be his peeps.

It will continue to get worse.  Capital will continue to migrate to all the wrong places and all the wrong people if we are not able to finally turn a fire hose on the whole system.

 

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 20:41 | 665706 Paul E. Math
Paul E. Math's picture

What an absolute disgrace of a human being.

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 20:33 | 665698 doolittlegeorge
doolittlegeorge's picture

there's no such thing as rights anymore.  bring in Petraeus for a "time out"--eliminate the Postal Service and save a trillion right there and then start the trials. You know you want it...deep in your dark heart you REALLY do.

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 20:28 | 665692 breezer1
breezer1's picture

great post as usual gw.

bix posted the good judge's letter on the 18th. worthwile site.

http://www.roadtoroota.com/public/207.cfm

Thu, 10/21/2010 - 00:04 | 666040 Lord Blankcheck
Lord Blankcheck's picture

go roota go

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 20:37 | 665689 Unlawful Justice
Unlawful Justice's picture

Another RAT smells trouble and thinks it's wise to retire.  

Corruption is afraid of unlawful justice.

Wed, 10/20/2010 - 20:21 | 665680 Silverhog
Silverhog's picture

Where is the Ass Hole Hall of Fame?

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!