How Morgenthau Didn't Prosecute Wall Street Drug Smugglers

[Policing Wall Street]

Readers may recall that in September, Robert Morgenthau, Manhattan District Attorney for 35 years, gave a speech on Iran and Venezuela.    

Morgenthau accused Iran and Venezuela of money laundering and drug smuggling. I felt an obligation as a journalist to add to this narrative so on September 20, The Black Star News published my article, “Morgenthau’s Hypocrisy On Drug War.” 

I recounted how Morgenthau had interfered with a federal investigation into money laundering and narcotics smuggling.  Due to requests for more information by readers I am expanding on that article today.

By now many readers know that I was once an FBI informant when the bureau investigated corruption on Wall Street.

In April 1993 I had met with FBI Special Agent Joseph Yastremski and had provided him with information concerning the involvement of Louis Miceli, a former Senior Floor Governor at the American Stock Exchange, and Robert VanCaneghan, a member of the Board of the American Stock Exchange, with the Italian Mafia in perpetrating the stock fraud, PNF.  This is discussed more fully in my lawsuit, 08-CV-1678 (SLT)(LB) in Eastern District Court of the State of New York.

I had some knowledge because I was a trader on Wall Street from 1984 to 1991.

After verifying my information and my credibility, in September 1993 I met with Assistant United States Attorney Frances Fragos and FBI Special Agent Yastremski in the offices of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Immediately after my meeting with Fragos on September 13, 1993 I had lunch with Jeff Green, who later pleaded guilty to insider trading in Motel 6, another Wall Street scandal.  Green told me that a member of the Amex Board had admitted to the Amex Board that he had sexually assaulted his female employees. I immediately telephoned Fragos in her office at One Saint Andrew Plaza and related this information to her.  She was furious.  But more of this in a later article.

During the investigation into the Mafia driven stock fraud of a company called PNF, the FBI learned that Miceli and VanCaneghan were laundering drug money from the Cayman Islands via their Amex specialist firm, Miceli-VanCaneghan, and that Miceli was smuggling cocaine aboard his boat “The Jaded Lady.” I agreed to wear an FBI wire to obtain information concerning these crimes- although the FBI wire was ostensibly to obtain  information on the stock fraud, PNF.

In October of 1994 Jonathan Frey, a partner in the Amex specialist firm J. Streicher & Co., informed me that Joel Lovett, then Vice Chairman of the Amex, had expressed regret concerning his protection of a member of the Amex Board, who had admitted to the Board that he had sexually assaulted his female employees.

In November 1994 I approached Lovett and requested that Lovett provide information to the FBI concerning the sexual assaults; information concerning Miceli’s smuggling of cocaine; and, information concerning the money laundering activities of Miceli and VanCaneghan that were in the possession of the Amex.

Lovett was upset because it could expose his connections to Harbor Securities, a day trading firm, and the illegal trading of his son, Evan, a specialist at Streicher & Co. for an account at Harbor Securities.  Joel Lovett, Vice Chairman of the Amex; Richard Syron, Chairman of the Amex and later Chairman of Freddie Mac; and, Arthur Levitt, former Chairman of the American Stock Exchange and at that time Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, prevented this FBI investigation into money laundering and narcotics smuggling at the Amex from going forward. 

How? They turned to Robert Morgenthau, Manhattan District Attorney- who is now retiring after 35 years as DA.

On the basis of an unsigned complaint from Lovett, I became the victim of harassment from the DA's office. Now there is no such thing as an
unsigned complaint.

In March of 1995 a senior Assistant District Attorney, Tom Wornom, pick me up because in November 1994 I had approached Lovett and had asked him to cooperate with the FBI.  At the inquisition in the offices I actually offered more information about the corruption probe: I told Wornom that the FBI was investigating Steven Lister, Vice President of Compliance at the American Stock Exchange for taking payoffs from Al Avasso, a front man for the Italian Mafia; Avasso, a stock fraud artist, for the stock fraud, PNF; Robert VanCaneghan and Louis Miceli for laundering drug money and for their involvement in the stock fraud, PNF; and Miceli for smuggling cocaine aboard his boat, “The Jaded Lady”. 

I also mentioned that an Amex member was laundering drug money from the sovereign nation of Jamaica.

Notwithstanding the FBI investigation and the fact that I had told Wornom to contact FBI Agent Joseph Yastremski if he doubted me, Wornom emphatically told me that I could be arrested for harassing Joel Lovett and Evan Lovett, his son.

He told me that I could end up in prison.

So nothing was done about drug smuggling and the sexual assault of employees even though I had brought forward the information and even informed the DA's office of the FBI probe.

This is the same DA's office that was quick in 1989 to railroad five innocent African-American young men who were later falsely imprisoned for the rape of the Central Park jogger. They were referred to as a "Wolfpack" and denounced in full-page advertisements by Donald Trump. Does anyone doubt that there are two standards for "justice" in this country.