Goldman Sachs’ angry executive could cash in with lucrative book deal

Cue the TV appearances and the book deal: for a guy who is down on capitalism, former Goldman Sachs executive Greg Smith is poised to cash in, reported the Toronto Star March 16. Dirk Matten, who holds the Hewlett-Packard Chair in Corporate Social Responsibility at York’s Schulich School of Business, is skeptical about Smith’s lament that Goldman is focused away from its customers’ interests. “He doesn’t strike me as the holy man in that shark pond, because he has swum in it quite successfully for most his career. I wonder how many millions he made, and I haven’t yet read that he has given it all to charity,” said Matten. Read full story.

NDP infighting intensifies as vote nears
Ideological and personal fault lines are growing in the NDP as rivals gang up against the program and leadership skills of front-runner Thomas Mulcair in the final days of the race to find Jack Layton’s replacement, reported The Globe and Mail March 16. York equity studies Professor James Laxer, who ran for the NDP leadership four decades ago and is now supporting Mulcair, said the party cannot afford to see the leadership race dissolve into personal attacks. Read full story.

More charges expected in SISO case
While the RCMP expects to lay more charges in connection with an alleged $4-million fraud involving the now-bankrupt SISO immigration services agency, the agency’s board members are expressing surprise, reported the Hamilton Spectator March 16. But corporate governance expert Richard LeBlanc, a professor in York’s School of Administrative Studies, said that when an agency is hit by fraud charges, later proven in court, it points to a massive failure of duty and care. Read full story.

Man accused of posing as doctor taken into custody
A Dearborn Heights, Michigan, man taken into custody Thursday on a federal charge of masquerading as a doctor and dealing with patients at two hospitals, falsely claimed to have graduated from York University on his application for a medical licence, reported the Buffalo News March 16. Read full story.