The Houston Chronicle‘s Loren Steffy dries the tears in his eyes long enough to again sing the tragic tale of one of Houston’s finest, Charles Hurwitz. The occasion is Hurwitz’s recent losses — or are they really wins? — in a couple of court cases, including our own Pacific Lumber bankruptcy case and the reversal of his recent monster lawsuit against the FDIC.
Steffy’s column is scored for strings, with 100 detuned violas scraping out the sad, sad story of a great man brought to heel by a society too base to appreciate his accomplishment:
Charles Hurwitz called to make sure I knew it was a victory.
He was talking about last week’s appeals court ruling that wiped out at least $57 million of the $72 million in sanctions a lower court said he could collect from the government.
“That’s a win all the way around,” he said.
And on and on — Hurwitz with his head held high, facing the coming death of his Maxxam Corp. with steadfast dignity. I should have told you, Hurwitz — this world was never made for one as beautiful as you.
Steffy’s previous work includes a laff-a-minute blog post entitled “It Seems Like Charles Hurwitz Just Can’t Catch A Break,” which enjoyed a brief moment of fame here in Humboldt County.
This article appears in Bankers’ Lunch: Second Course.
The phone call to Steffy was a nice, personal touch. So down home and regular.
Yo, Hank, please fix the links on your home page.
Underway. Thanks.
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That one works now, at least from the front page.
Why is it that you just brush off the things the judge had to say, the things that this latest ruling left standing? About the government acting like the mafia in trying to take the land? (Debt for Nature)
It really is quite a story, and one that I don’t think has really been told here in this county, where it is most relevant. Maybe the only place it is as relevant is in the halls of Congress, where alot of the lobbying was done.
Like the company or its owner or not, and this being Humboldt county, surely no one does, that ruling is an incredible statement.
Remember this always…..Hurwitz WILL burn in hell, and alot of good his money will do him then.
Today it’s Hurwitz, soon it may be the Fishers; some local activists are even publicly supporting the MRC! When will you learn? Fishers=Gap/Old Navy/Banana Republic=sweatshop ethics. http://www.gapsucks.org
I don’t believe in hell, yet I do believe that the corporate elite are heading for a downfall, and that the truth is still rising, despite the efforts of the tricksters.
Rose: Do you remember what the case was all about? A collapsed savings and loan company — the financial scam du jour of the 1980s. Hurwitz controlled it, and its collapse ended up costing taxpayers $1.6 billion (in 1980s dollars).
The government should have taken his land. In a just world, Hurwitz would have gone to prison penniless and would be there still. So it’s sort of hard to find sympathy for him.
Hey Rose, Chuckie need your help. Why don’t you cut a check to Chuck for the same amount that you pay for taxes. You know, just cut out the middle man.
You know the poor guy deserves it!
I’m not talking about sympathy for Hurwitz.
classic corporate raider…whats not to get, he has been at it for years, and not just in humboldt. we had the unfortunate issue of having to educate the lumberjacks who thought it was the environmentalists who were taking their jobs, and not the liquidation of capital- ie OldGrowth- that was the issue. I dont hold a grudge against the timber folk, they finally figured out who was porkin who. too little-too late.
Don’t forget the hijinks of that loveable tag-team, Pombo and Doolittle, as they labored on Hurwitz’ behalf to destroy the FDIC’s case.
Hank you should at least admit to Rose you have mis-stated the ruling. The ruling was not reversed the ruling stands, the award was reduced as nearly all awards for damages are on appeal.
Remember the lady who spilled McDonalds coffee on her lap? $2.86 million became $640,000.
Just because Hurwitz is a scumbag doesn’t mean the government should deny him due process. By the way, criminal charges about the savings and loan case was dropped by the FDIC because of no hope to convict him. The FDIC then filed a civil case to re-coup ~$800 million from him. The FDIC lost to his counter-suit and were fined ~$72 million for their actions.
Discovery showed FDIC regulators and environmentalists communications over two years strategy to take his land. The FDIC lied to the court saying there was no colusion and plot to take his land.
Again, he’s a scumbag, but in your own words, “in a just land” you can’t throw the Bill of Rights out because you don’t like someone. At least, last time I checked you can’t.