Customer Reviews

Black and White on Wall Street: The Untold Story of the Man Wrongly Accused of Bringing Down Kidder Peabody

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

If you have any doubts about purchasing this book, first read some of the 49 reviews (thus far). Immediately, you'll notice a trend. Overwhelmingly, readers are convinced of Joseph Jett's account of the facts. On the other end of the spectrum, you'll read a few accounts of individuals who claim to have worked with Mr. Jett or have somehow come to the conclusion that Mr. Jett is lying. I put my faith in most people's ability to discern the truth by using a modicum of critical thinking. I actually laughed out loud when I read comments by those who stated, "I am the wife of an ex-Kidder employee" or "I worked at Kidder and lost my job." Their comments make no mention of the legalities of the case or ridiculous control GE had over the media and the legal system. If the "superiors" at Kidder had "no clue" (according to their inept recollection), why would a wife or ex-employee know whether or not Joseph Jett had "taken down" Kidder Peabody? Executives at Kidder said they had no idea what was going on, I doubt a lower-level employee or wife (who no doubt was biased about her husband's loss of a job) would have ingenious insight.

This book was absolutely fascinating!!! After reading this book, I gave it (or recommended it) to my brother, mother, father, sisters, husband, brother-in-laws and countless friends who all came to the same conclusion, "innocent," without any prompting by me.

BY FAR, THIS WAS THE BEST BOOK I READ ALL YEAR!!!(which says a lot--our family reads tons). The technical aspects of the book require more dedicated attention as you read, however, even if you have troubles with this section, it's clear that Joseph Jett was wrongfully accused of single-handedly taking down Kidder Peabody. The reader does not (and probably should not) come to this conclusion based on one account of a Wall Street employee, but on the countless other books and accounts with similar tones--BIG MONEY (I.E. GE C0RPORATION) PRECLUDE THE FAIR OUTCOME OF ALMOST ANY TRAIL. Why are we shocked at the outcome?

I was extremely saddened at the end of the book. It it disturbing that both the Justice Department and the National Association of Securities Dealers exonerated him of any wrong-doing, while the SEC judge (who does not have a finance understanding and was working her first case) said he was innocent of securities fraud but had the intent to fraud the company, although Jett was abiding by the firm's own bookkeeping rules. There were just too many inconcistencies in her ruling.

By the way, our family consists of Latino, White, and African Americans members, all of whom have B.A.'s, Master's, MBA's, and PhD's. All reached the same conclusion--Joseph Jett is innocent.

In the end, this book not only does an excellent job of portraying Jett's case, but it also re-awakens our consciousness about the unfair control that weathly corporations have in America which, in the end, dictate what happens in our court-rooms, what we see on television and what we read in the papers. This is why reading a variety of perspectives is so critical--don't rely on TV to give you the truth!!

As a member of the Kidder,Peabody Diaspora I received a special case of whiplash from being yanked back to the time and events that Joe Jett describes in his book. It might take one or two more books on this subject by other authors, but eventually everyone will realize that, because the securities industry is essentially a cartel, it is able to tolerate incredibly mediocre people in senior management positions... people like Mel Mullin, Ed Cerullo and Mike Carpenter, or the general counsel of Morgan Stanley. For the dumb cartel members there is very little upside in pursuing excellence. The smart ones, however, need the dumb ones in order to fill out the ranks and help maintain the status quo. I think one reason why Jack Welch disliked Kidder so much is that he had very little personal respect for its managers.

Most readers will probably be convinced that Jett's management new about his trading activity, and that the firm's accusations were an attempt to save Carpenter's and also Jack Welch's reputation. (By the way, the whole Jett episode has echoes of GE's industrial diamond price-fixing scandal which preceded it.)If these men's credibility couldn't be maintained, then that of the cartel as a whole (and thus the credibility of the regulators) was at stake.

I think the real phantom trade was the cost of Ed Cerullo's deferred compensation, along with Joe Jett's career and that of several others in exchange for the status quo.

Mr. Jett sets himself up as the fall guy for Kidder's inept management. While that's a nice scenerio, it's simply not the case here. The truth is, Jett did take credit for $350 million in paper profits that didn't exist, and pocketed over $8 million in commissions and bonuses he knew he didn't earn. In reality he lost money trading Fed Bonds from 1993-1994. He made fictitious Profit & Loss gains (P&Ls) by moving up the settlement date 90 days plus. When Kidder, Peabody finally found this out, they had to re-adjust their books and take a $350 million loss. It ruined the firm. Yes, Virginia, he really did bring down Kidder, Peabody.

The reader learns next to nothing about bond trading or Wall Street. Jett feels that his trading activity was real and profitable, but declines to give the reader the nuts and bolts of his strategy because it is too technical and difficult for us. Of course, this does little to counter the argument of Jett's attackers that there was nothing to Jett's trades and strategy and that his profits where nonexistent and simply accounting tricks to obtain bonuses from his employer. (See http://www.sec.gov/enforce/alj/id127cff.htm for the SEC decision.)

Jett was not a particularly nice guy to work for since he viewed work as a strictly impersonal war. Thus, it's hard to commiserate with his protestations that others in this "war" were "unfair" to him.

Jett describes many situations that did call for positive ethical actions by him. Mr. A hires Jett to investigate Mr. C and liquidate some assets. Jett meets with Mr. C who tells him that he isn't going to investigate or liquidate anything, but Jett can come and work for C at a higher rate of pay. Jett didn't blink in changing sides. Jett is hired as a Vice President (thus owing a fiduciary duty to the company), but never reports to the Board of Directors or the CEO various irregularities of those around him.

In the end, I don't know what this books tells you. Jett had many commendable personal qualities and was may well have been subjected to terrible racism and corporate world mendacity. But Jett doesn't present any clear proof that his trades were anything more than accounting entries that foolish and greedy people used to give themselves bonuses. Jett may or may not have done right, but he doesn't give us the info to decide.

As a person close to much of that described in the book, I can say that Joe Jett is completely deluded. Additionally, it stuns me that such a poorly written fantasy has been promoted heavily let alone published at all. Were it not for the comic value that exists for me as someone who knows much of the reality re. all of this, I would not have graced this piece of trash with more than a very few moments of my time.

I knew Joe Jett while I was working on Kidder's mortgage-backed security trading desk. Joe alleges that white Kidder higher ups were jealous because he lived well, had a white girl friend, was paid a lot of money, and was aggressive in his trading methods. His allegation of racism is the biggest load of crap. I am a minority and on my desk there were 6 other minorities (including several Indians) and we were all vice presidents or senior vice presidents. Our group was extremely profitable and we all made a lot of money but we nevered felt like 2nd class citizens and no one "went after us" because we were minorities or Indians.

Additionally there was a mixed race couple working at Kidder (woman is white and man is black) who had a relationship and later got married but mothing ever happened to them and they made a lot of money. Joe of course doesn't want to reveal any of this because it would fly in the face of his allegations and then he would have to explain himself vis a vis the trades he made.

I'm an I-banker and former CPA. I read this book and still can't tell who's right. More than likely as with most arguments, the truth is somewhere in the middle.

Jett builds a great case of his bosses setting him up but when someone works this hard at it, I become very suspicious. He does have some very creditable points that his bosses knew or should have known what his accounting practices were. Employee of the year to criminal? Where was internal audit?

Basically, this book allows you to hear one side of the story for you to draw your opinions from. I'm not sure what is correct but I enjoyed the read and see one more time the "ego filled" life of Wall Streeters.

I had forgotten about the Kidder Peabody debacle until I saw Jett recently on C-SPAN. He is quite a speaker. I found his comments on business, corporate politics, and the failings of the black church to be dead on. Jett realized that power and politics matter more than race and it is very refreshing that someone has the courage to admit it.

I bought the book the following day and read it straight through. I manage a racially diverse professional workforce and have dealt with complaints of perceived discrimination for the last two years. After reading Jett's book I was able to have a heart to heart with a black direct report. He had not read the book so I lent him my copy. Somethings were simple: I no longer ask him or any minority to high-five me in greeting and he no longer says that being tardy is a black thing that I just don't understand. Otherthings will take longer. But the book was a real eyeopener for me and I believe 40% of my workforce has now read it.

I have sent it to my son, a business major at Duke and told him to bring it to the attention of his professors and classmates.

The book reads like a fictional tale full of intrigue and suspense. Jett tries very hard to convince the reader that KP knew of his trading practice. He takes pot shots at those investigating as not knowing nothing about trading or the stock market in general. The reality is that Jett had only been in the business, himself, a few years. He talks of a boss being overly concerned with his 'affairs', but never did he indicate to this boss that he felt harrassed (as many of us would). He cites where he did not know he had an outstanding bill from Harvard--(I don't know of anyone who would forget they owe a bill that is keeping them from receiving a hard earned MBA) In a nutshell, Jett seemed talented, but does not have a grip on reality. I think he feels he's so smart that his lies are enough to keep the average person off his tracks. His entire defense has been "others knew" It's almost as if he is really saying 'I did wrong but because management did not catch it, I should not be punished ' Although Jett never stipulated this, but I think Jett's biggest challenge was being an unattractive male. His so called 'discipline' mentallity was really a front to his cosmetic insecurities. The book was a good read but was more of a one-man editorial on the 'world according to Jett'. I would have preferred a more objective translation of the facts. His book typifies how Jett treats people in general--stupid humans who need help interpreting the world-- Most folks are not stupid, Jett, perhaps this ordeal will help reshape how you deal with people! Not that it's important, but I'm a black male.

UGH ! ONE CAN ONLY HOPE THAT JETT AND HIS APOLOGISTS FADE AWAY AND LEAVE US ALL ALONE. IF PEOPLE KNEW THE TRUE DECEPTION PERPETRATED BY JETT AT KIDDER PEABODY, THEY WOULD FIND NO SYMPATHY FOR THIS CRIMINAL !