Exclusive: No Criminal Charges Likely in AIG Collapse

By: Armen Keteyian
Topics: News

CBS NEWS has learned that former AIG executive Joseph Cassano - the prime focus of the investigation into its collapse - will meet with Department of Justice attorneys next week in what will likely be an end to the two year criminal investigation into the company.

Sources tell CBS News that the criminal case against Cassano - once called "the Man who Crashed the World" - has "hit a brick wall" - meaning that it is likely no one will be held criminally liable for the downfall of the company that triggered a $182 billion dollar federal bailout.

Sources tell CBS News federal investigators have been unable to uncover any evidence that Cassano lied to his bosses or shareholders about financial problems at AIG.

In recent months, Cassano's lawyers - citing internal documents - argued that he never broke the law. Instead, he simply got caught up in a financial tsunami that engulfed Wall Street.

Joe Cassano Behind AIG Mess?

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by london2007-2009 April 6, 2010 6:47 PM EDT

Put this crook in the jail in the same cell with Madoff for the same
time. I forgot nothing will happen to this crook he was donor for
Chris Tod's Campaign.

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by london2007-2009 April 6, 2010 6:50 PM EDT: I mean Chris Dodd.


by aiglustizgood April 5, 2010 12:36 PM EDT: More crooked people getting away with crime...What a joke..Thanks regulaters for doing such a gret job at taxpayers expense.; Reply to this comment


by 54cnet April 3, 2010 1:08 PM EDT: Amazing how much fraud continues to be swept under the carpet.; Reply to this comment


by Dgunner April 3, 2010 10:36 AM EDT: YOU WILL NEVER WORK IN THIS TOWN AGAIN! HOWMANY TIMES HAVE WE HEARD THAT STATEMENT?; Reply to this comment


by trillion1 April 3, 2010 10:12 AM EDT: Bringing some of these crooks to justice would do alot for the morale of this country but we would need a goverment that isn't bought and paid for first.; Reply to this comment


by kbbpll April 3, 2010 9:28 AM EDT: How about a class action lawsuit against this scumbag instead. 300 million US taxpayers are the plaintiffs. The lawyers can keep all the proceeds. I just want to see him bankrupt instead of moving on to his next golden parachute.; Reply to this comment


by rightbehind April 3, 2010 12:14 AM EDT: The guy in the picture doesn't want to come home to the US. He's even smart enough to know he done wrong. The enron speculators are still free and work for morgan stanley and goldman sachs. The politicians are not smart enough to know if they don't put the brakes on this unchecked capitalism the country will fail. The economic crisis was obvious economic engineering. Just who will the politicians represent and rule when the country fails?; Reply to this comment


by KeithDrippingSprings April 2, 2010 11:59 PM EDT: I see most of you know who is at fault for this fiasco, so my question is. Who are you going to vote for next election? If you think your Congressman or Senator is one of the good guys then you are still deluded. Your congressman and your Senator caused the nation to be in the mess it is in. No matter which side of the arguments we are on, we all know things pretty much suck. the only way to make a meaningful change is to make both parties suffer. Don't return any incumbants to office.

All of them are Scoundrels and Thieves. If they can collect from 2 to 3 thousand dollars per day to spend on their next election then they are doing to bidding of the people that sent them to Washington and that ain't us.; Reply to this comment


by bciss April 2, 2010 11:16 PM EDT: Another stunning shock from Washington and Wall St. Criminals and psychopaths are running the show and it becomes more obvious by the day. How terrible and ironic. The real criminal money to be made is in a pin stripe suit with a Harvard degree. The abuse of power wielded best with a noble face and false solidarity with the common people. And most repugnant, the most deviant sexual predators have haven in pretty robes and false faith. How nice to have such honorable and presentable masks to hide your heinous faces. (Pssst,, halls of power (you know who you are) the cracks are showing.); Reply to this comment

by th9876 April 2, 2010 11:11 PM EDT

One of the problems with people in this country is when politicians try to pass regulations, people start playing Yosemite Sam while screaming GOVERNMENT IS TRYING CONTROL FREE MARKETS!!! Then when the unregulated banks go on a killing spree of our money - laughing all the way, the same people start screaming for charges to be filed against them. IF you leave banks unregulated they are going to screw you - period.

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by smithdag April 3, 2010 4:36 AM EDT: It should be the governments duty to regulate free market, because it is in the common interest of the nation. However, it is not the government's duty to initiate the response, because it is a multinational economy, with some players that are bigger than others. Legislation causes problems because it is a static fix for a dynamic economy, and it restrains the ability of a free market system to work effectively. The sole duty of the governments should be to only correctly report the conditions of market. They should not impose fines or dictate business process, and should only file charges when criminal activity is done. The market players should determine the reaction to the market conditions and then respond accordingly.

Health inspectors are a good example. They impose fines for infractions, but the market very rarely heres about it. If a restaurant had, for example, mishandled meat products, and instead of fining the restaurant, the government disclosed the information in an accessible way to the public, the business would lose alot of customers--the damage would be much more than the government fines. So, it would be a much better motivator to safely handle meat products because the ability to stay in business depends on it, and so the restaurant is much more likely to do it. Such is the way that a free market is supposed to work.