Russell Blake: Silver Justice

“Her name is Alexandria. Alex for short,” Kennedy started.

“She’s a pitcher for the Yankees, but she-”

“Mom!” Kennedy protested.

“Sorry. Alex is an international spy working for the Bolivian secret police, who’s used her fame as a Latin pop singer and soap opera star to gain access to her real target, Antoine Duperry, the world famous clothes designer who is a favorite of the president’s wife, as well as a frequent guest judge on a number of second-rate talent shows.”

“Antoine, who moonlights as an usher for off-Broadway plays, uses performances of ABT as his launching point for his more wild designs,” Kennedy continued without missing a beat.

“Alex knows that Antoine has grown suspicious of her, but she is committed to gathering intelligence for the top secret Bolivian takeover plans of North America.”

Kennedy paused, pulling Silver to a stop next to her. “Time out. Where is Bolivia? Are you making that up?”

“No, Bolivia is where bowls come from. Hence the name. Bowlivia.”

“Like Latvia. Where lattes come from?”

“No, that’s Starbucks. Don’t you know anything?”

They exploded into giggles, both feeling more than slightly silly.

“Here, honey, let me straighten your outfit. It looks kind of like you fought your way out of the closet by putting on clothes. Did you even brush your hair?” Silver kneeled down in front of her, adjusting her top, which had shifted in the cab.

A shadow swept over them, created by the spotlights mounted on the front of the theater as they pointed down at the crowd. Kennedy’s eyes moved over Silver’s head, and Silver finished her emergency fix, ending by smoothing Kennedy’s hair with one hand before standing and facing the new arrival.

“Took you long enough,” Silver said to Richard, who was wearing a tuxedo in honor of the special occasion. “Although you’re forgiven because the penguin suit shows special creativity and effort.”

“Could I have the check, please?” Kennedy added helpfully.

“Be careful when you’re parking my car,” Silver added.

Richard smiled good-naturedly and took them both by the hand. “At these prices, it better be the best basketball game I’ve ever seen, or I want my money back.”

Silver Justice contains a number of observations and opinions about financial history, the Great Depression, the 1929 and 2008 crashes, and the general state of the economic system as well as the regulatory and political systems. While this is a work of fiction, readers are encouraged to research for themselves where the truth ends and invention begins.

Those interested in the background of the Federal Reserve should read the landmark work by G. Edward Griffin, The Creature from Jekyll Island , about the true events surrounding its creation and its functioning.

The conspiracy surrounding the 2008 financial crisis described in the novel is largely drawn from fact — mostly tamed-down fact, as the truth is too unbelievable to be plausible to the average person. Numerous articles in the Financial Times, Rolling Stone Magazine , and a host of websites devoted to the capture of the media by financial interests document the incredible story of the looting of the nation. Of particular note are the events surrounding the demise of Bear Stearns, as well as the alumni active in the government, then and now, from one of the largest, and some would claim most malevolent, investment banks on Wall Street. It cannot escape mention that several of that firm’s biggest competitors were destroyed during the crisis and now no longer exist.

In a 2010 report to Congress, Admiral Dennis Blair, the U.S. director of national intelligence, described one of the most significant threats to the economic wellbeing and national security of the U.S.. He noted that transnational organized crime syndicates are closely aligned with foreign intelligence services/governments that are considered to be hostile to the United States. He observes that: “…the nexus between international criminal organizations and terrorist groups [including, but not limited to Al Qaeda]…presents continuing dangers…” The national intelligence director then warned that these same transnational organized crime syndicates are “…undermining free markets…” and “…almost certainly will increase [their] penetration of legitimate financial and commercial markets, threatening U.S. economic interests and raising the risk of significant damage to the global financial system…”

Bernie Madoff ran the largest Ponzi scheme in history, for decades, while enjoying remarkable influence with the nation’s security regulator — the SEC. Madoff’s contribution to the regulatory environment includes the now famous “Madoff Exemption,” which enabled market makers to create virtually unlimited amounts of non-existent stock and sell it as though it was legitimate. An Internet search of the term Madoff Exemption yields fascinating illumination of the true state of the U.S. regulatory and market system. The SEC was warned about Madoff on numerous occasions over a period of years by Harry Markopolos, a prominent whistleblower who provided the agency with copious evidence of wrongdoing. Nothing was ever done.

For a breathtaking deconstruction of the U.S. economic system, including the 1929 Crash, Mercantilism and the ascendance of Keynesian economic theory in the operation of the U.S. government’s economic policy, the Great Depression, and countless other necessary pieces of knowledge any informed citizen should have, read The Fruits of Graft by Wayne Jett — essential reading for anyone interested in why things operate the way they do.

To read about how Wall Street operates, and has operated since it first started trading, I recommend Once in Golconda , by John Brooks, and The Hellhound of Wall Street , by Michael Perino — a marvellous account of Ferdinand Pecora, who ran the Pecora hearings in 1933 that exposed the biggest firms on Wall Street as criminal enterprises routinely involved in fraud, market manipulation, and every imaginable sort of larceny. It is arguable that nothing has really changed.