The Chickenshit Club

Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives

De: Jesse Eisinger

Narrado por: Jonathan Todd Ross

From Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jesse Eisinger, a blistering account of corporate greed and impunity and the reckless, often anemic response from the Department of Justice.

Why were no bankers put in prison after the financial crisis of 2008? Why do CEOs seem to commit wrongdoing with impunity? The problem goes beyond banks deemed "too big to fail" to almost every large corporation in America - to pharmaceutical companies and auto manufacturers and beyond.

The Chickenshit Club - an inside reference to prosecutors too scared of failure and too daunted by legal impediments to do their jobs - explains why. A character-driven narrative, the book tells the story from inside the Department of Justice. The complex and richly reported story spans the last decade and a half of prosecutorial fiascos, corporate lobbying, trial losses, and culture shifts that have stripped the government of the will and ability to prosecute top corporate executives.

The book begins in the 1970s, when the government pioneered the notion that top corporate executives, not just seedy crooks, could commit heinous crimes and go to prison. The book travels to trading desks on Wall Street, to corporate boardrooms and the offices of prosecutors and FBI agents. These revealing looks provide context for the evolution of the Justice Department's approach to pursuing corporate criminals through the early 2000s and into the Justice Department of today.

Exposing one of the most important scandals of our time, The Chickenshit Club provides a clear, detailed explanation as to how our Justice Department has come to avoid, bungle, and mismanage the fight to bring these alleged criminals to justice.

©2017 Jesse Eisinger (P)2017 Simon & Schuster Audio

Nice attempt to tell complicated legal challenges

Very intricate, and intertwined. Like a legal version of Catch-22. Goes back and forth in time, and explores the developments in the Justice Department, Southern District of New York, the courts, and the SEC.

Get ready to become really pissed off

I dare anyone to read this book and come out of it thinking our criminal justice system isn't full of shit. A truly infuriating read.

Great listen for attorneys in white collar crime

I thoroughly enjoyed this book but I think it would be boring for someone who was not already somewhat familiar with the subject matter. This is a detailed report on the AUSA and SEC investigation and prosecutions of white collar criminals and the key players in that arena for the last 50 or so years. I found the story fascinating and engaging, because I work in this area of the legal profession and I was close to many of the events covered in the book, but I don't think my non-lawyer family and friends would enjoy it. I also disagreed with some of the author's opinions and conclusions, but that doesn't matter - the book was extremely well researched and well written. The story proceeds at a fast pace and includes dozens of interesting characters from white collar criminals to prominent prosecutors and defense attorneys. It's a great read for people in the legal profession.

Makes Perfect Sense to Me

The book asks one question: why won't anyone in the Department of Justice go after the dirty so-and-sos who destroy companies and harm the public for their personal gain? My background in ethology tells me that as primates, we do not like to challenge authorities. The higher on the food chain, the less prone a person should be to prosecution.

This book looks at how such a power structure gets enforced. It looks at how CEOs and owners have used their positions within corporations to influence and rewrite the laws so that they now protect the corporations and their executives from their victims rather than protecting the people from power grabs and greed. It explores the systematic and brutal treatment of members of task forces who have tried to prosecute the most egregious cases and the appointment of judges who favour the companies.

Thank you, Mr. Eisinger, for putting these pieces together so that even someone like me, who is unskilled in economics and the law, can understand this history of the dismantling of our protections and the transfer of power to an ever-shrinking oligarchy.

Very thorough

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

On the fence on this one. It had some interesting pieces, but it was like auditing a law school course.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Paul Pelletier and Jed Rakoff were the heros. Interesting characters.

Do you think The Chickenshit Club needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

It needs an abridged version. Way too long.

Everyone must read

Everyone must read to understand our justice system. You will be furious at times, but this look inside justice is worth it.

very thorough!

meticulously researched, tons of details and thought-provoking. completely unbiased in my view. makes the average Joe understand in Easy explanations what the challenges are.

What an explanation for lack of prosecutions!

Where does The Chickenshit Club rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Fairly high and I certainly will be recommending the book to others. This book should be on anyone's "read soon" list.

What other book might you compare The Chickenshit Club to and why?

The Chickenshit Club might compare to a book about Enron, or the author who tried to alert people to Bernie Madoff's scheme, or the book Chain of Title, or the new book Sellout. All of these books have people who try to do the right thing or unwind an outrageous scheme.

Have you listened to any of Jonathan Todd Ross’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but the narration is quite satisfactory.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book deals with relatively current events other than background history so the only emotional response might be frustration with the system at the SEC and the DOJ.

Any additional comments?

Definitely do not overlook this book.

A complex and sophisticated work of investigatory journalism

This is an outstanding sophisticated work of investigatory journalism that details the complex nature of white-collar prosecution over the the past forty or so years by the US Dept of Justice and the SEC. Beginning with the aggressiveness of the criminal division of especially the Southern District of New York to the slow erosion of such nature into the decade of the 2000s and beyond and whys. While behemoth corporations committed fraudulent acts the DOJ became more passive about bringing corporation and top executives to task for wrongdoing. It is a story for today’s political climate as a prosecutor’s duty to seek justice has been highjacked into settlements with admissions without consequences, civil penalties of no real significance. As a former state prosecutor and criminal defense lawyer, I found this subject intriguing. The writing is detailed and complex regarding financial terms and legal procedure. It takes some background knowledge to be up to speed to understand facts.

If you have a bank account, you need to read this book

Read it and then stop re-electing anyone. We have many to blame including ourselves.