No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller by Harry Markopolos (rainbow fish read aloud .txt) 📗

Acknowledgments

Many people contributed to this book, so it’s hard for me to consider it a singular effort. To my friends and teammates Frank Casey, Neil Chelo, and Michael Ocrant for your willingness to risk it all over so many years under the very worst circumstances. You contributed so much to this story that you deserve as much credit as I do for exposing the Madoff fraud and the weaknesses of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Your dedication to our nation’s core values speaks volumes about your character. I have led many whistleblower teams over the years, but never one that faced danger like this team did; yet each of you pressed on regardless. And you did it for zero compensation because it was the right thing to do, proving that some things are just so important that you know you have to do them for free. This country needs to produce more good citizens like you, because right now the bad guys are winning. I hope this book inspires others to follow in your footsteps.

To my personal attorney, Dr. Gaytri Kachroo. Thank you for representing me pro bono and sharing your experiences about this case. You have always been able to see three steps into the future and outthink our opponents.

To my wife Faith for allowing me to work on this case even after realizing how dangerous it had become. I promise I will never do another case that puts our family at risk. If I had known how bad this case would get I would never have pursued it. No husband should ever have to ask his wife to defend the second floor armed with a pistol.

To David Fisher, who put up with the five of us and our too many edits and rewrites. No one knows organized crime better than you do, and that’s what this was at its core—a criminal conspiracy that spanned the globe. It was a pleasure working with you. To Frank Weiman, our literary agent, whose patience we tried and tried again.

To the following partners at the Boston office of McCarter & English LLP, thanks for preparing me, pro bono, to testify before Congress: Burt Winnick, the Honorable Paul Cellucci, and Bill Zucker.

To Phillip Michael, my main qui tam attorney and confidant in working with so many brave whistleblower teams. Thanks for being a world-class enforcement attorney! Thanks also to the whistleblowers on Cases 81, 89, 92, 93, 94, 95, and 96. You are unsung heroes defending our nation’s citizenry against those companies that would loot this nation’s tax dollars. Thanks also to attorney Mike Lesser at Thornton & Naumes LLP for carrying on without me while this book was written.

To Pat Burns, Jeb White, and all the qui tam whistleblower attorneys at TAF.org for fighting the good fight against crooked corporations. Thank you for everything you’ve taught me.

Thanks to Joe Wells and Kevin Taparauskas at the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners for the excellent training and timely advice.

To Sergeant Harry Bates of the Whitman Police Department. Thanks for your help planning my personal security and keeping it a secret all these years. And my entire family thanks the townspeople of Whitman, Massachusetts, for being so protective and supportive after this case became public. I apologize for all the commotion this caused the town.

To my father Louie, thank you for teaching me to stand up and fight no matter the size of the opponent. You watched me lose and you were okay with it even while I was ashamed. To my mother Georgia for being a stay-at-home mom and superb educator.

To Colonel Michael N. Schleupner, my former battalion commander, thank you for the example you set for me. Your moral courage in always doing the right thing has always inspired me. Ditto for Colonel Ken Pritchard, Lieutenant Colonel James Berger, and Lieutenant Colonel Mike Tanczyn. I witnessed each of you stand up for what was right, and it hurt your military careers in the National Guard and Army Reserve but you did the right thing anyway. Moral courage is often the hardest to come by, and no one gives you a medal for having it; but without it the world quickly falls apart.

To some of the many good people in the financial services industry who helped me with this investigation: Dan diBartolomeo (Northfield Information Services), Andre Mehta (Cambridge Associates), Dave Henry (Carruth LLC), Nick Marfino (ConvergEx), Joel Kugler (Meridien Partners), Matt Moran (Chicago Board Options Exchange), Bud Haslett (CFA Institute), Tom Huber (Glenmede Trust), and Jeff Fritz (Oxford Trading Associates). Your help was invaluable in pursuing the case.

At Citigroup, thanks to Charlie Miles and Holly Robinson for your astute observations. To Leon Gross, thanks for your expert analysis; I wish the SEC had bothered to call you—things might have been different if they had. All of you were helpful at various points during my team’s investigation, proving that plenty of honest people work on Wall Street.

I would like to thank the following people at Goldman Sachs for teaching me all about derivatives math: Dr. Joanne Hill, Dr. Emanuel Derman, Rebecca Cheong, Michael Liou, Jack Lehman, Mark Zurack, and Amy Goodfriend.

To the late John “Front Page” Wilke of the Wall Street Journal for your courage and inspiration on all those corruption cases you broke. Real investigative journalists are a rare breed, but you were one of the best. I miss you.

To Gregory Zuckerman of the Wall Street Journal and Ross Kerber of the Boston Globe, thank you for reporting the story when it first became public. You two went on faith and trusted me instead of the SEC as the case was breaking.

To Andy Court, Keith Sharman, and Reuben Heyman-Kantor at CBS News’ 60 Minutes, thank you for allowing me to explain to the victims what happened. Your investigative skills are unparalleled, and you discovered information that you wisely never reported because you know the difference between news and sensationalism.

To Diane Schulman for rescuing me in my time of need and to your