Serpent on the Rock by Kurt Eichenwald

Author:Kurt Eichenwald
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9780307419231
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2007-12-18T05:00:00+00:00

Not all the brokers enjoyed the fun and games. A number of Pru-Bache’s female brokers were particularly offended by the $uperbroker comic book, with its sexist portrayal of women. The whole thing seemed horribly unprofessional. In late July, a copy of the $uperbroker comic book, complete with a short note of complaint, arrived on George Ball’s desk from Barbara Gutherie, a broker from Paramus, New Jersey.

“Mr. Ball,” Gutherie wrote, “if we wish to lose our image as a ‘schlock house,’ we should stop acting like one.”

As far as Matt Chanin was concerned, the energy income partnerships were just not viable in the long term. He had looked at the numbers over and over again, and they just weren’t working. By October 17, 1985, he was ready to take a drastic step.

“If Graham doesn’t make some significant changes,” Chanin told a group of executives in a conference room at Prudential-Bache headquarters, “I’m going to have to consider whether I should keep investing Pru’s money in this.”

The words hit the room like an atomic bomb. The investment of Prudential Insurance in the energy income partnerships had been the big selling point. How would they explain it to the brokers if the Rock decided that it had to drop out?

The first step needed for renewed support from Prudential Insurance, Chanin said, was for the high expenses at the partnerships to be cut. Despite the terms Chanin had put in place months earlier, Graham’s bloated expenditures still ate into profits.

“This issue has to be addressed and resolved before I agree to participate in another offering,” he said. For the first time, the future of the energy income partnerships was in question. The expenses had to come down if Prudential was going to stay on as an investor.

Darr watched the thick group of bare trees pass by as he rode in Tony Rice’s car through the winding roads in Stamford, Connecticut. They were on their way to a shoot at a nearby range. Their shared interest in hunting and guns had become a passion. Already, by late 1985, they had hunted prairie dogs in Wyoming, wild boars in south Texas, and, of course, quail at Longleaf. Now Rice was planning a real treat for Darr in the next few months: a bear hunt in Alaska. The cost of the hunts was tens of thousands of dollars, all paid by the partnerships. With all the expenses the partnerships had, Rice figured that a $20,000 or $30,000 bill for a hunting trip was just a drop in the bucket. Keeping Darr happy was a necessary cost of business.

But by constantly paying for Darr, Rice had created expectations that sometimes proved embarrassing. When he invited Darr to hunt prairie dogs, Rice said that he would need a .22 Winchester magnum. The rifle could be ordered at any gun shop, but Darr apparently did not want to be bothered. He called Rice and asked him to take care of getting the gun for him. So Rice ordered the gun, had the sights adjusted, and put on a scope.

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