Terminal Compromise

, Septe

York

d out?" At first, Scott thought the cartoon voice was a joke perpetrated by one of his friends, or more probably, his

sources. That's confidential. But are you sayi

uined. Everything, my family . . .how could you have found out? They promised!" The noi

very journalistic puzzle confirmation of a story that stood to wreck havoc in portions of the financial c

.maybe I should get a lawyer . . ." The call from Scott Mason to First State Savings and Loan on Madi

neys, thinking the first name approach might wo

gh Sidneys hung up on Mason. It was as close to a

*

voided the family destiny of becoming a longshoreman. "If it's good enough for me, it's good enough for my kids." Scott

on wanted her son to have more of a future than to merely live another generation in the lower middle cl

by the hot tempered Louis Horace Mason. Scott took apart everything in the house in an attempt to see what made it tick. Sometimes, not often enough, Scott could reassemble

onx High School of Science, an hour and a half train ride from Brooklyn. To Scott it

an end to it. "Horace Stipton Mason," Evelyn Mason said with maternal command. "Our

s d

ty of time to decide what he's going

s d

ting the table. "Dinner is ready. Wash yo

und ample opportunity to pressure Scott about how it was the right thing to follow i

sed at George Washington, writing for the New York Free Press, Scott was even arrested once or twice or three times for peaceful

r scholorships, but adequate to be ac

hose City College to keep costs down. He would live at home. "He broke every

ft of center politics guide his social life. His engineering professors remarked that he was underutilizing his God-given talents and that he spent more time protesting and objecting that paying attention. It was an unpredictable piece of lu

sher Anne Manchester to review the paper's position on running Mason's story. Scott was being lawyered, the relatively impersonal cross examination by a so-called friendly in-house attorney. It was the single biggest

timeless all about Beach Boy face made him a good catch on his better days- he was back in circulation at almost 40. The round wire rimmed glasses he donned for an extreme case of myopia were a visible stylized reminder of his early rebel

the ample office resem- bled an elegant and subdued law library. Higgins chaired the meeting from behind

the news end of the business; he kept his opinions to himself. But it was his respon- sibility to insure that the City Times' was kept out of the re- ceiving end of any li

o say, but he respected his opinion and didn't argue too much. Higgins was never purposefully adversarial. He merely wanted to know

eps better notes than I do," he offhandedly said. Nobody objected. There would have been no point in objecting even if anyone cared. It was an unspoken truism that Higgins and other good a

days ago, on September 4, that's a Friday, I got an anonymous call. The guy said, 'You want

ancis McMillan was?" Hig

ws how to clean up the S&L mess, gets lots of air time. Probably making a play for Washington.

Higgins agreed.

klyn accent, docks, Italian, who knows. I said something like, 'I'm listening' and he says that McMillan is the dirtiest of them all. He's been socking more money away t

t?" Higgi

orgot about it till

pointing at the stack of computer printouts

y name and the pa- per's." Mason showed Hi

ou read

, but enough." Scott

I let Doug kn

s was keeping furious notes t

akers, good for the soul, thought Mason. People are too

asement, told him I'd put his name in the paper if anything came of it, and I picked his brain. Ran through the numbers on the printouts, and ran through them again. I reall

ry to legal and the publisher, "that a substantial portion of the bank's assets ar

e. "So what's wrong wit

ets. It appears from these papers," Scott waved his hand over them, "that the total of the reserve accounts will be taken,

ted as he ma

gnored Higgins, "I got a call again,

t? How did you know

chie Bunker. Good enough for you?" Mason grinned wide. Mason had th

'I like, but so what?' I still wasn't sure what he wanted. He said, 'they never took a loss, yet. Look for Friday. This Friday. They're gon

con- tained a history of financial transactions, primarily overseas; Luxembourg, Lietchenstein, Switzerland, Austria

got research to come up with the 10K's on First State since 1980 when McMillan took ov

nd the envy of hundreds of every other S&L knee deep in their own shit." Higgins cringed. He thought Ms. Man- chester should be shielded from such language. "The problem is that, according to one se

got then?" Hi

of the loss projections and reserve accounts. Sweet and nea

do?" Higgins asked as his

y account numbers listed in the package I received are non-existent. But, with a little prod- di

te SEC reports, and damned if the numbers didn't jive. The books with the overseas acc

tom line

through it'll be $3 Billion worth." Scott was proud of himself

usual and admittedly questionable game of 'what if'. You have a voice on the end of a phone with no name, no nothing, and a so-called confirma

is a fraud, a rip-off," S

does

o prove it," Scott shuff

lier tone. "There's a little legal issue called right to privacy. Let me ask you

prove it,"

It's the s

rs to prove it, it's

have easily been phonied. You know what computers can do better than I do. Now here's the key point. Everyb

t hesitant

are stolen, obtained illegally. If we publish with what we have now, the paper could be on the receiving end of a slander and libel suit that could put us out

Scott did

tone was now conciliatory. "This is hard stuff, and there's just not enough here, not to go wit

clo

thought Scott. Ba

lacked horn rimmed glasses to complete the image. His bargain basement suits almost fit him, and he scurried rather than walked down the hall

known throughout the financial departments; he was almost a fixture. His accounting skills were extremely strong, even remarkable if you wi

Hugh Sidney

e he told that reporter . . .but could he afford that . . .and he wasn't sure what to do . . .was he in trouble? Yes, he was . . .he knew th

ly over the phone. Scott had just returned to his desk from Higgins' offi

s Scott

rememb

he voice immediate

I just . . .ah . . .wanted to . . .ah .

he Pee Wee Herman sounding beancounte

opened his notebook. He had just had his story nixed a

well, I'm nervous

e phone to convey sincerity. "I understand, it hap

ut help, help, it's so much and I didn't really know, no I shouldn't have c

g up. Mr. Sidney

sper came over

fear, the sound of fear that every good reporter is att

'm OK,

ong. Slowly and calmly." He ea

pose himself and gather

s was scared, but wanted to talk to someone. Maybe this was the time for Scott to back off a little. He stretched out and put his feet up on his desk, making him feel and soun

journalism. You can be off the record, on the record, or for background, not for attribution, for confirmation, there's a whole bunch of 'em." Scott realized that Hugh

t you think . . .and . . .I don't want anything in the paper. You

r permission. Will that do?" Scott smiled broadly. If you speak loudly with a big smile on your face, people on

nhale deeply. "Those papers

here." Scott patted the

ave them. I mean it's impossible." Hugh was ge

d that for me yesterday. A weak confirmation, b

Mason

call me

ay is that what you say you have, yo

reams of paper here that say someone at First State is a big crook. Then you say, 'sure it's real' and now you don't. What's

tz domineering personality. "The only place that those figures ever existed was in my mind an

hose sta- bility is currently in question. The contents would have far reaching effects on the S&L issue. A highly vi

ave a cup of coffee somewhere. It might be easier

r was built. Rosie, all 280 pounds of her, kept the UPS truckers coming back for over thirty years. A lot of the staff at the paper ate here, too. For the best tasting

briefcase while nervously looking around the diner. Scott called the short pale man over to the faded white

at you were telling me on the phon

or they found out. It's impossible." The voice

Does someone e

They think I do market analysis and research. What I'm really doing is helping shelter money in offshore investment account

ink that wa

e. Until rece

ott nibbled from the

ted them to be kept secret for various reasons. McMillan and the others made the

t? What's the big deal?" Scott gulped some hot black coffee

he has all the same figures and facts you said you have. He starts reading enough to me and I know he's got what he says he got. Then he says he wants me to

st enough to get some- thing more. "Do you think you were being blackmailed? Did he, the English guy, dema

at was it. Then, nothing, until you called. Then I figured I miss

threat

d that it would be in my be

did yo

hing wrong but he said that didn't matter and I would

gh was scribbling furio

ne, other than McMillan who can get at that stuff. It's always been a big secret. We don't even make any printouts of it. It's never

e of embezzlement and blackmail, off shore money and he was scared. "Hugh," Scott began slowly. "Let me see if I've got this right. You were part of a sc

his, creating a secret little world tha

ould get the information from the computer. No one else c

are so safe and then I get a copy. And the numbers agree with the results that First S

what happened." Hugh Si

ezzler and want out before it's too late. Born again bean- counter. It's a real possibility." Hugh's face grimaced; no, that's not what happened, it's just as I told you. "Or, two, McMillan is behind the disclosures and is now effec- tively sabotagin

d someone want

us, "or McMillan is trying, quite effectively to spook you

t say anything, will

into Scott

. "Not without speaking to you first. No, that wouldn't be

keep on it. There might be a story there, somewher

*

e of the Na

ly tablo

his way home that eve

at

S&L RIP O

ts typically sensationalistic manner, the arti- cle claimed that the Expose was in exclusive possession of documents that proved McMillan w

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