Breaking news: Municipal bond fraud
The State of Illinois is accused of lying about its pension liabilities in sales documents for its IOUs. When you buy munis, you buy into the genius of people like Sam Adams, and the board of directors of Tri-Met. Good luck with that.
| Posted at 11:46 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (3)
I can just imagine the creative writing exercise that is taking place within the Lake Oswego Department of Finance to portray the prospective bond issue of $18 M - $20 M for the Lake Oswego Tigard Water Partnership as a sound municipal bond investment.
I hope the governments of Lake Oswego and Tigard disclose to Moody's Analytic's along with Standard and Poor's bond rating authorities the following:
1. 1995 Clackamas River basin hydrology report.
2. Pending legal appeals by Water Watch for
water draws from the Clackamas River.
3. City of West Linn conditions of $5 M +.
4. Appeals for this and that; resulting in project delays of two or more years.
So much for a stable revenue stream to secure the bond issue. Oh well there is the fall back of: "... full faith and credit ...". Realtors might need to disclose this in all future transactions within the Lake Oswego Urban Services Boundary.
Posted by Charles Ormsby (Skip) | March 11, 2013 12:03 PM
Wow.
If that is a herald for new enforcement policy at SEC, that is a serious game changer.
I hope it is not a fluke, an abberation, and SEC is going to look at the muni issuers and industry and hold the issuers and industry fo the same fraud standards which the priate of he securities industry is, I'm going o be cheering loudly.
But on the basis of one settlemment, I'm no going o ge all excited.
The SEC has ignored far too much for far too long.
Say, did you have any money wifh Jon Corzine's firm? Or Bernie Maddox'?
Posted by Nonny Mouse | March 11, 2013 3:23 PM
You think anyone would buy Illinois debt if they knew the truth and how they'd get screwed?
There is precedent - Remember the GM debt holders?
Posted by Steve | March 11, 2013 4:13 PM