Steve Rattner's fall from grace

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Is Steve Rattner in denial? The one-time Golden Boy of Wall Street--and I do mean golden--has been tarnished. But does he realize that? Does he understand that he is no longer the Steve Rattner of old but rather Steve Rattner who got tripped up in a pay-to-play scandal and just might be charged?

When his private equity firm Quadrangle settled with regulators, he perhaps should have settled as well. Instead, he continues to fight, which provided Vanity Fair to give him the treatment. The New York Post got a look and offers some choice nuggets. 

He took the fifth on several occasions when he was interrogated by the SEC. But he proclaims to friends that he is innocent and that he did nothing that others in the industry weren't doing. Famous last words to be sure. He also paid off a middleman in cash. In cash!  That is not a good sign.

So far, however, Rattner has not been charged. But he's a canny guy and still commands enormous respect. He may yet pull this out. Many people in New York society are no doubt rooting for him. "He seems to think that he will soon be exonerated and that it is just a matter of time before he returns to Washington to live in his $4.35 million Georgian mansion, which, the article claims, he bought in the hopes of eventually being named Treasury Secretary." 

For more:
- here's the article

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