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

[lfalen]

This was also on ABC News last night. Why anyone wants to bail out these people is beyond me.
Roger
-----Original message-----
From: Tom Hansen thansen at moscow.com
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2009 08:55:35 -0800
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] Bailout Bank Blows Millions Partying in L.A.

> 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/
>  
> -----------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 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." 
> 
> -----------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 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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