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Ivy Schmerken
Ivy Schmerken
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What Happened to Jon Corzine?

With clouds of the MF Global collapse hovering over him, Jon Corzine, the former senator and governor of New Jersey, is lying low in the Hamptons, reports the New York Post.

It’s been a busy summer for scandal-plagued bank CEOs like Robert Diamond, the former chief executive of Barclays who was forced to resign over the bank’s role in the manipulation of Libor rates, or Jamie Dimon who testified twice about JP Morgan’s risky derivatives hedge. But did you ever wonder what happened to Jon Corzine, the former chief executive of MF Global who seems to have disappeared since he testified in December about the firm’s collapse.

According to the New York Post, Corzine has escaped to the Hamptons. Sunburnt, but glum, Corzine is wearing baggy jeans and a sweatshirt, as he is photographed leaving Starbucks.

“I think it was pretty noticeable that he was haggard and somewhat unfocused,” said the friend, who ran into Corzine recently. “You can definitely see that he’s a troubled man right now.”

In November of 2010, Corzine’s brokerage firm MF Global imploded under the weight of risky bets in European sovereign debt, when the firm raided customer segregated accounts to meet margin calls and $1.2 billion in customer funds went missing. The fall of MF Global has reverberated across the entire futures industry and certainly has ruined Corzine’s career, though he has not been accused of a crime.

From the New York Post

Combine that with a brutal 2009 election loss to Chris Christie that followed a near-fatal crash on the Garden State Parkway in 2007, and it’s hard not to notice the dark cloud hovering over Corzine’s head. Friends said Corzine looks like a shell of the man who seven months ago sat before a Senate subcommittee and said, “I simply do not know where the money is.”

But unlike previous summers in the Hamptons when Corzine was a big shot attending cocktail parties raising money for President Obama, he is not as visible this year. Though he still frequents his favorite restaurants in East Hampton and Sag Harbor, the Post reports that his time in the Hamptons is not lifting up his spirits as it used to do. He is not receiving as many invitations, the anonymous friend tells the Post. With the look of someone who is facing dark days ahead, not even a summer latte can cheer him up. While escaping to the east end of Long Island is a summer ritual, and far better than sweating on the subway, being shunned on the party circuit can be a reminder of how far one has fallen.

Ivy is Editor-at-Large for Advanced Trading and Wall Street & Technology. Ivy is responsible for writing in-depth feature articles, daily blogs and news articles with a focus on automated trading in the capital markets. As an industry expert, Ivy has reported on a myriad ... View Full Bio
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