[Vision2020] Bailout Bank Blows Millions Partying in L.A.

[Tom Hansen]

Northern Trust bank, recipient of much bailout money, has lavish Beverly 
Hills private party, complete with rock band Chicago, Earth, Wind & Fire 
and Sheryl Crow.

Courtesy of TMZ at:

http://www.tmz.com/2009/02/24/northern-trust-bank-bailout/
 
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Bailout Bank Blows Millions Partying in L.A.
Posted Feb 24th 2009 1:30PM by TMZ Staff

A bank that received $1.6 billion in bailout money just spent a fortune 
last week in L.A. hosting a series of lavish parties and concerts with 
famous singers ... and TMZ cameras caught it all.
 
Northern Trust, a Chicago-based bank, sponsored the Northern Trust Open at 
the Riviera Country Club in L.A. We're told Northern Trust paid millions 
to sponsor the PGA event which ended Sunday, but what happened off the 
golf course is even more shocking.

Northern Trust flew hundreds of clients and employees to L.A. and put many 
of them up at some of the fanciest and priciest hotels in the city. We're 
told more than a hundred people were put up at the Beverly Wilshire in Bev 
Hills, and another hundred stayed at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel. 
Still more stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Marina Del Rey and others at Casa 
Del Mar in Santa Monica.

The Beverly Wilsire in Bev Hills
http://tinyurl.com/BeverlyWilshire
 
Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel
http://www.santamonicaloewshotel.com/?src=ppc_google_LoewsBrand
 
Ritz Carlton, Marina Del Rey
http://tinyurl.com/RitzCarltonMarinaDelRey
 
Casa Del Mar
http://www.hotelcasadelmar.com/
 
- Wednesday, Northern Trust hosted a fancy dinner at the Ritz followed by 
a performance by the group Chicago. 

- Thursday, Northern Trust rented a private hangar at the Santa Monica 
Airport for dinner, followed by a performance by Earth, Wind & Fire. 

- Saturday, Northern Trust had the entire House of Blues in West Hollywood 
shut down for its private party. We got the menu -- guests dined on seared 
salmon and petite Angus filet. Dinner was followed by a performance by 
none other than Sheryl Crow.

The Menu
http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_documents/0223_menu_wm.swf
 
There was also a fabulous cocktail party at the Loews. And how's this for 
a nice touch: Female guests at the Chicago concert all got trinkets 
from ... TIFFANY AND CO.
 
As for what all that costs: Well, the company isn't talking. We spoke with 
a rep from the band Chicago who said Northern Trust paid them around 
$100,000. A House of Blues source told us it cost more than $50,000 to 
close the joint down last Saturday night. As for Sheryl Crow's fee, her 
rep didn't get back to us. Earth, Wind & Fire acknowledges payment but 
won't say how much. 

As for the golf tournament, a rep from the PGA told us Northern Trust 
wrote one big fat check in order to sponsor the event. That check covers 
part of the $6.3 million purse, the advertising costs for the spots on CBS 
(which broadcast the final two rounds of the tournament) and operating 
costs. The rep says the fee was negotiated and is confidential.

Lots of people from Northern Trust went to the golf tourney ... in special 
Mercedes that shuttled them to and from the hotels. But for those who 
weren't into golfing, they could spend a few hours at the Northern Trust 
seminar on the credit crunch.

http://tmz.vo.llnwd.net/o28/assets/images/0223_northern_trust_opt-crop.jpg
 
Now how's this for outrage? Northern Trust laid off 450 workers in 
December, 5% of its workforce.

And here's what's absolutely amazing: The United States Government flat 
out gave Northern Trust the $1.6 billion in bailout money, and the bank 
didn't even request it! 

Northern Trust gave us a statement yesterday before going total radio 
silence. A rep for the bank acknowledges they paid for the events, but 
that the bailout money did not pay for the events. He claims it was paid 
out of the bank's operating expenses. Here's Northern Trust's full 
statement to us.

http://tmz.vo.llnwd.net/o28/assets/swf/0223_NorthernTrust-PDF-2_opt.swf
 
Perhaps we're missing something, but money is money. How can they spend 
like this when they're using taxpayer's money, whether they asked for it 
or not? And where the hell is Congress in all of this? Is there any 
oversight or accountability?

Your tax dollars, hard at work. Thomas Jefferson was right -- "A little 
rebellion, now and then, is a good thing." 

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"For a lapsed Lutheran born-again Buddhist pan-Humanist Universalist 
Unitarian Wiccan Agnostic like myself there's really no reason ever to go 
to work."

- Roy Zimmerman


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