More Martha news...

[dd74]

...well, no one can say they didn't see this in her future...

http://money.cnn.com/2004/03/08/news/companies/martha_future/index.htm?cnn=yes

[Z-man]

This whole thing gets me thinking: could it be that her little Emclone stock thingy wasn't the first time she was caught with her hand in the cookie jar? (Hand painted cookie jar, of course!) I wonder if she used all her federal 'get out of jail' cards on past inappropriate deals?

I truly hope that this type of information surfaces regarding Ms. Stewart's past.

Still planning on holding a 'Martha goes to jail' party in my garage in June. If you come dressed up, you will be forced to roll around in the dirt!

-Z-man.

[dd74]

Yikes! Have you guys seen the news reports from convicted "white collar" female criminal accounts of what federal prison is like. Susan McDougal of the infamous Whitewater scandal, was fairly chilling: quote, "There will be a lot of people there to "welcome" Martha. Many people who will like to get her acclimated." (sic).

There were other accounts to, none less gripping.

Okay. So I'm fairly firm in the belief Martha comitted a crime, knowingly at that. But I feel a bit sorry for her: she's not at all "hardened" to this new lifestyle. I have doubts she'll make it through.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally posted by dd74
I have doubts she'll make it through.

Karma, my friend. Be a b!tch on wheels and see where it gets you....

[RoninLB]

She is guilty of lieing to the feds.

IMO, it's an abuse of the fed law by the prosecution.

So now everybody in the US should be scared to ever talk to the feds again. Maybe even the IRS.

And I suspect every CEO in the US has received a call from his lawyer to zip up completely when the feds call.

I wonder if the PD can arrest you for telling a lie about how fast you say you were traveling when he clocked you ?

[Decolliber]

Gives me an idea for a new HBO series - a female version of Oz. Martha would be one of the white gang leaders (a female Shilinger, or whatever his name is).

More seriously, I do think she was treated harshly - because she is rich, female and (by reputation) not very nice, or least very arrogant. People love to hate her for the same reason they love to hate Bill Gates. Why do Americans have this ambivalence about financially successful people?

And remember that George Bush the Younger dumped all the shares in his own oil company before it went bankrupt, and never got prosecuted. And what about Cheney getting his pals at Haliburton the Iraq contracts? Surely these sorts of things are far more damaging to society than Martha avoiding some capital losses.

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by Decolliber

And remember that George Bush the Younger dumped all the shares in his own oil company before it went bankrupt, and never got prosecuted. And what about Cheney getting his pals at Haliburton the Iraq contracts? Surely these sorts of things are far more damaging to society than Martha avoiding some capital losses.

she's not accused of insider trading.
she's will be going to jail for lying..

[dd74]

Originally posted by RoninLB
she's not accused of insider trading.
she's will be going to jail for lying..

This is an excellent point, because all I've heard from the "liberated" LA woman (who still likes to have a man's strength nearby, incidentally), and the perfunctory Hollywood gay guy is the feds nailed Martha because she's a woman. Personally, I grappled with this until I remember Martha LIED.

Her insider trading beef was thrown out of court, yet she still lied to investigators. In short, the government does not like to be lied to.

[Decolliber]

Originally posted by RoninLB
she's not accused of insider trading.
she's will be going to jail for lying..

I am well aware of the charges. I was making a more general point. People in prominent places do these kinds of things all the time. If everyone who told a fib to federal investigators got prosecuted, the jails would be full of CEOs. Why did they chose to make an example of _her_ in particular?

[dd74]

Well, I do believe some of the Enron executives have been to court already, and are being investigated. I don't know how many of them are currently working on the same level they were before.

I'm only being devil's advocate here, and hope this doesn't sound to glib: but Martha, like most high-energy, high-powered CEOs, might look at this as merely a failure of herself. They seem to have more pride than realistic sense. These guys are made of stuff that is almost superhuman in their ability to take jabs and punches (and possibly prison) in the short run, but keep focus on the long run, which is to build and maintain a successful company.

Case in point: Gerald Levine, who ruined Warner Bros for ALL of us with the AOL merger. This merger was the worst business decision in the history of business, and it's historically all on his shoulders. I'm surprised he hasn't committed suicide, or someone hasn't assassinated him. Yet, Levine has perservered: he has another exec. job with a health food company. With him, like most CEOs, it's a pride thing - CEOs need to prove to themselves that they can come back into the fray, and be successful. It's almost genetic.

I do hope Martha pulls through. I don't particularly like the woman, especially now, but she is extremely gifted and intelligent. Plus, as Blue says, she's a ***** - which means she's also a fighter. If at all, who else can make an industry out of folding napkins? I think the sign of her greatness will be if she can bounce back. I wouldn't be surprised if she did make some sort of comeback, given her area of expertise and how visible it is - a nice home setting makes everyone happy...

...as opposed to someone like Michael Milliken, whose work was not as tangible, and thus not as visible.

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by Decolliber
. Why did they chose to make an example of _her_ in particular?

I can't remember the name of the US DA in Manhattan who has been raising all kinds of BS, but high profile cases, in the past 3 years. The Manhattan US DAs is probably the most powerful and most respected group in the country.. except when the head DA wants to be NY state govenor. So Martha got screwed because of politics. You can look up the hard info on this easily.

and not for nothing, but
whatever you personally think of her.. don't forget she made plenty of jobs for people.

and if you want to follow a real Wall St dance watch former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling make the Justice "Enron Task Force" nuts.

Martha is blue collar politics by a DA seeking the NY Governorship. Just look at who wants to see Martha in jail.. and read about what Wall St businessmen think. The public may not know it but "transparentcy" just became much more difficult in the US.. and that's bad for investors, which happens to be about 50-60% of US workers.

[Jim Richards]

the jails would be full of CEOs.

And that would be wrong, how?

[Moneyguy1]

Problem...Martha was a licensed trader on the big board, as well as sitting on the Stock Exchange. She would not 'fess up even when found guilty. To claim she did not know she was doing something wrong, is simply unbelievable. It is not because she is a woman, or even that she is an insufferable boor who even berates her "guests". She was simply a liar. As a convicted felon, she ain't gonna be a stockbroker any more!! There should be more following her. We can only hope.

And her empire? What single product did Martha Stewart actually produce? Just her name put on existing lines and paid a percentage for that privelege. A very interesting method of doing business...

Oh well, it is late and I am cranky.....

[RoninLB]

I'm curious to see about the appeal ?
I'm curious what Barnes & Noble has figured on a Martha Book ?
this catroon ain't over till it's over.

[singpilot]

Eliot Spitzer. Will be New York's next Governor. Will leave to be Hillary's running mate when she is President.

Remember this thread. You heard it here first.

[tabs]

In the begining all Martha had to do was say, "In the heat of the moment I made a mastake." The Feds woulda fined her and she would have bin on her way to the rest of her life. But noooo, she had to brazen it out and LYE. Her first set of attorneys fired her as a client...what does that tell U. So don't tell me me poor martha anything, and she ain't no pawn in a bigger game neither. Martha turned outt to be just plain ole fashion STUPID.

[350HP930]

While I have no sympaty for martha our current president got away with the similar offenses more than once.

The lesson is that when it comes time to make examples of people it pays to either be a son of a president, a friend of the president or have similarily good connections.