When it comes to the San Francisco Fed, it is best known throughout the financial community as the group of crack economists who spend millions of taxpayer funds to investigate such probing, for kindergarteners at least, topics as: is water wet, do trees make a sound when they fall in the forest, is it still worth going to college [14], and are hedge funds important in a crisis [15]. Little did we know that, at least some of them, are homicidal psychopaths with suicidal tendencies. Because this is precisely what was revealed moments ago when Bloomberg reported that the chief operating officer of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and 26-year San Fran Fed veteran, Richard Hornsby [16], is facing a felony charge for threatening to kill the agency’s former top official, Ed DeMarco, and then kill himself.
From Bloomberg [17]:
Richard Hornsby last week threatened to shoot former FHFA Acting Director Edward J. DeMarco and then kill himself, according to an April 29 police report. DeMarco, who retired from the agency that regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on April 30, was taken to a secure location while Hornsby was arrested.
The details of the charge against Hornsby can be found here [18].
So how did the FHFA COO nearly end up commiting a murder-suicide? Perhaps this had something to do with it: "Before joining FHFA, Hornsby worked for 26 years at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco."
WSJ, which broke the story, has more [19]:
Mr. Hornsby didn't respond to requests for comment, including messages left on a cellphone and a visit to his apartment. A woman who answered the phone at a California number associated with his name hung up when informed the caller was from The Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Hornsby allegedly threatened to shoot Mr. DeMarco after making "increasing threatening comments" about him over the course of several weeks, according to court records and Metropolitan Police Department report.
FHFA officials notified the agency's inspector general about the threats on April 28, after an incident in which Mr. DeMarco was "escorted to a secure location following a report of a threat," according to the court complaint used to secure the warrant for Hornsby. An FHFA employee, who wasn't named in the report filed in court, said Mr. Hornsby had threatened to harm Mr. DeMarco and to kill himself.
The incident occurred two days before Mr. DeMarco's previously announced retirement from the agency. The unnamed FHFA employee told the inspector general that the threats against Mr. DeMarco stemmed from disputes over Mr. Hornsby's job performance ratings, according to court documents. A spokeswoman for the inspector general declined to comment.
So where is this SF Fed veteran now? Why free to roam among the US population, where he belongs.
At a hearing in D.C. Superior Court last Wednesday, Judge Karen Howze issued the restraining order directing Mr. Hornsby to stay away from his workplace and from Mr. DeMarco, according to court documents. Mr. Hornsby, 58, was released without being required to post bond. Another hearing in the case is set for May 14.
At least he is away from the printer at the Marriner Eccles building, where another band of current Fed sociopaths are inflicting far greater damage on the country and its citizens.
And speaking of Fed, here is just what Hornsby activities was engaging in quietly at the Fed before his murderous rage finally bubbled up to the surface:
Hornsby served at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco for 26 years, holding a variety of senior level management and banking supervision positions. Most recently, Hornsby was group VP and division head for the Reserve Bank’s Financial Planning and Control and Corporate Administration Divisions. In this position, he oversaw many of the Bank’s support functions in nine states. Prior to that, he served as group VP in charge of the Bank’s Portland Branch having responsibility for director relations, branch administration and business continuity. Hornsby also directed the Bank’s business development and customer support functions bankwide. He also served as a key member of the senior management team of the Federal Reserve’s National Support Function Office which provides electronic access to the Reserve’s financial services clients nationwide. In addition to his senior management positions, he was a Supervising Examiner in the Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation for 10 years, having regulatory responsibility for bank holding companies, banks and non-bank subsidiaries.
Which perhaps explains why five years after the "recovery" US banks are in such great shape they need some $2.7 trillion in Fed excess reserves to mask their insolvency.
Tangentially, some advice: don't haggle with that former Fed employee Ben Bernanke over his $250,000/hour speaking fee. He may be packing.