Rob Berry & Michael Sallah The Miami Herald

October 7, 2009

Rob Berry & Michael Sallah
The Miami Herald
One Herald Plaza
Miami, Florida 33132-1693

RE: An “integrity adjustment” vis-à-vis Clark Clifford, Esq. Why “some things are owed to the ledger”.

Sirs,

I wrote to you on October 4th in re high powered lawyers doing high powered things for high powered clients.

You suggest that Greenberg Traurig, an international law firm with over 1000 attorneys, may have gone over the line for its client, The Sanford Bank. The paper trail is labyrinthine to say the least. Gazillions of dollars, indicted politicians, Caribbean nights combined with concupiscence; perhaps Carl Hiaasen can make a novel out of it.

I mentioned Clark Clifford, Esq. doing some work for Knight-Ridder, the former owner of the Miami Herald. A quick review of the record shows we can stipulate that both client and attorney had their toes over the edge of propriety. My first knowledge of this came about because the former Chairman of Knight-Ridder, Alvah Chapman, offered a written eulogy of Clark Clifford that quickly went from effusive to fulsome. Regardless of the particulars of this sub rosa mid-American shenanigan – it was in Detroit as opposed to Antigua – attention must be paid to Clark Clifford, Esq.

In his autobiography, a weighty tome given over to a narcissistic hagiography whose blurbs told us that he, and he alone, had saved America from the clutches of evil Republicans. In his book he called Ronald Reagan an “amiable dunce”.

You may wish to Google Bank of Credit and Commerce International, AKA BCCI.

BCCI was one of those speed bumps from the ‘80s that has gone down the memory hole so lovingly cared for and maintained by modern American Liberals. Whatever else can be said them it must be noted that they never leave their wounded on the battlefield.

BCCI appeared fully grown one morning as if it had sprung from a green eye shaded accountant’s forehead.

The Chairman of the Board was Clark Clifford, Esq.

The President was Robert Altman, Esq. who was – Surprise! – another high powered lawyer. He was graduated from an intense weekend course called “This Weekend Banks. Next Weekend Heart Transplants. You CAN Do It.”

Another vital piece of his CV was that he was married to Linda Carter, AKA “Wonder Woman”. Her magic ring, the one that deflected villainous death rays, was to come in handy for him later in the decade.

When he married LWWC a surprise guest gave her a $38,000 Jaguar sedan. That’s $38,000 in 1983 dollars.

BCCI distinguished itself by becoming a failed bank. It did it with no outside help. It had help from neither Christopher Dodd nor Barney Frank. It was not just a failed bank but was the cause of other banks failing. It raised the bar for stealing hot stoves to almost Olympic Game status. It would have been the first sport in both Summer and Winter Games. It fell from within.

In due course both high powered lawyers were subpoenaed to tell Congress how it all happened. Robert Altman, Esq. used his wife’s magic ring to deflect criticism and to preclude the soon to be famous “perp walk”.

Clark Clifford, Esq. faced a different dilemma.

Richard Armey, a former high line wireman for the phone company with a PhD in Economics, was a Congressman from Texas. My daughter was his constituent for 6 years.

In the discovery process prior to testimony it was revealed that one man owned 40% of the common stock of BCCI. The owner was the prototypical Sheikh of Araby. He was the surprise donor of the $38,000 Jaguar.

By this time high powered lawyer Clark Clifford had lost a bit off his fast ball. Still, he was in his milieu. 40 years of deflecting sunlight, 40 years of controlling rivulets before they could do great damage, 40 years of serving the high and mighty, 40 years of papering over peccadilloes from both sides of the aisle did not prepare him for Congressman Armey.

Clark Clifford testified that he “did not know that 40% of the bank that he was Chairman of was owned by one man”. His reply to why he didn’t know was “Nobody told me”. He further testified that he did not who any of the shareholders were.

I was an officer and director of a public company. I knew the names of every shareholder, be they an individual or an institution, who owned more than 1% of the common stock. It was, is, and shall be inconceivable that the Chairman of the Board of a public company, particularly a bank with all its regulatory issues, would not know if someone owned a 40% stake in said company. In the real world a 40% owner can have the Board Room painted lavender. He can order the company to serve only tofu and groats in the company dining room if he so desires.

That brings us back to Congressman Armey.

Clark Clifford, Esq. was the Alpha Male of DC high powered insiderdom. He was the man that companies, companies like Knight-Ridder, turned to when they wanted something done. More importantly he was them man who could get something “undone”. Alvah Chapman chose wisely.

Congressman Armey read the passage that Clifford had written about Ronald Reagan being an “amiable dunce”. He asked him, based on his testimony, how he would characterize himself.

40 years of “juice” was drained from him in the time between the question being asked and the phumfering answer being given. The look on his face was akin to a baby seal a nanosecond after the ax has entered his brain.

His indictments for bank fraud, money laundering, and self dealing were vacated because of his age. His claim to being the Chairman of the Board of the largest banking failure in history stood for about 15 years.

Compared to Clifford shenanigans the Greenberg firm was trying to get reckless driving tickets downgraded.

As I said in the beginning “some things are owed to the ledger”. It is never too late to make an “integrity adjustment”.






Kevin Smith