"Pensioners 'kidnap and torture' financial adviser"

Given that my grandparents lost 1/3 of all of their assets this past year, I'm not sure who I feel more sorry for, the adviser or his captors. Just kidding...but this is a wild story:


www.telegraph.co.uk...

The men, dubbed the "Geritol Gang" by police after an arthritis drug, face up to 15 years in jail if found guilty of subjecting German-American James Amburn to the alleged four-day ordeal…

During his alleged confinement in an unheated cellar, Mr Amburn, 56, claims he was burned with cigarettes, beaten, had two of his ribs broken was hit with a chair leg and chained up "like an animal..."

I was led into the cellar," recalled Mr. Amburn, "I saw a folding bed and a WC reserved for me. They immediately went on about there money. I told them what I had told them before, that due to market conditions, unfortunately it was gone.
"I was struck. Again and again they threatened to kill me. The fear of death was indescribable. I never thought I would make it out alive…

Forty armed police rescued Mr. Amburn who was naked except for his underwear. A physician had to be on hand to help his captors into police vans because of their various infirmities.

[edit on 24/6/2009 by kosmicjack]

Please tell me they videotaped their interrogation sessions. I have to see it to believe it.

Mr Amburn, the boss of an investment firm called Digitalglobalnet, was allegedly attacked by two men – aged 74 and 60 – as he entered his apartment building...

"Then they bound me with masking tape until I looked like a mummy. It took them quite a while because they ran out of breath.

Is it wrong to giggle?

reply to post by kosmicjack


How did they get him into the car? He is beaten by some geriatrics, then bound, then loaded into the car. He mentions they had to quit because they ran out of breath; plus they needed medical assistance to be loaded into the patty-wagon.

Really? Is this guy a midget or something? Are we not getting the full story?

Evidently one should never under-estimate the power of pissed off pensioners.

At least the old people have the BALLS to stand up for themselves.....though I believe they took it out on the wrong guy.

reply to post by kosmicjack


When I read the headline...
"Pensioners 'kidnap and torture' financial adviser"

I laughed out loud! Am I bad?

Was this poetic justice no matter how misguided? Should I be shouting "Power To The Pensioners"? For so long we hear of how these indescribably rich financial institutions shaft innocent and vulnerable people of all their money. Is it so bad that these old codgers stuck it to the man? Do we know what their 'sell' was too these elders to garner their trust and consequently their cash?

I'm confused... yet mildly elated!

IRM

Here's why they sought their own retribution and didn't file a formal complaint:

Volker Ziegler, the chief public prosecutor from nearby Traunstein, said: "They were angry because they invested money in properties in Florida and he lost it all. This was black money – they hadn't declared it to the revenue authorities in Germany."

Still, that likely just means the adviser felt more empowered to risk their money as there would not really be any official consequences.

[edit on 24/6/2009 by kosmicjack]

Originally posted by kosmicjack

Still, that likely just means the adviser felt more empowered to risk their money as there would not really be any official consequences.

My God! Are you suggesting that morality plays no part in their 'business decisions and practices'?

A revelation to be sure! I'm shocked! I thought they were busting their guts to make us all rich... just out of the goodness of their hearts! Do I feel silly now or what?

IRM

The pensioners now face up to 15 years in jail each for illegal hostage taking, torture and grievous bodily harm.

Wow, people get longer jail terms for possession of illegal substances.

Those old farts should be thrown in jail for the rest of their lives. I'm glad they lost their money if this is how they fix their problems.

Originally posted by Kaytagg

Those old farts should be thrown in jail for the rest of their lives. I'm glad they lost their money if this is how they fix their problems.

What your seeing is desperate measures from desperate people who have probably, at their stage of life, lost everything. And the thing that probably stings the most and pushed them over the edge into this action was the fact that they have no legal recourse under a rigged system whatsoever.

In essence, as good citizens, they are expected to grin and bare it while said financial institutions continue to flourish and make money hand over fist with their deceptions upon vulnerable people into the foreseeable future...

Just my take on things. Not everything is black and white!

IRM

This is a good time for jury nullification. I hope the jury lets these guys go even if they think them guilty. These corrupt financiers have to be punished and the govt obviously won't do it - on the contrary, the govt gives them money!!

Now that's funny!!! It's about time someone got revenge on one of these thiefs. Wouldn't you know, it would be old people that would have the balls to do it.

Star and flag!

I just find this story hilarious! Was this financial advisor an old fart himself? He couldn't defend himself from two arthritic and breathless old men? Heh.

For some reason Clint Eastwood comes to mind .......

..... I can only imagine how horrible it was, .... being constantly beaten by a walker with tennis balls on the bottom, ...... and only fed ribbon candy.

........ the horror.

I wonder what would happen to Madoff if folks got him in a basement?

This just goes to show that folks are getting pretty fed up, and sometimes, as Gerald Celente puts it..."folks just lose it" !

reply to post by burntheships


Wait till he actually gets into the population, I'm willing to bet there are many there that have relatives that lost everything to his crap. I would not want to be him in a captive environment! Even the families of those in the country club prisons must have lost money with him!

Zindo

They will be the heros of the prison geriatric ward!

I think we will be seeing much more of this kind of thing, as our aging population reaches the point of having nothing left to lose.

Originally posted by InfaRedMan

Originally posted by Kaytagg

Those old farts should be thrown in jail for the rest of their lives. I'm glad they lost their money if this is how they fix their problems.

What your seeing is desperate measures from desperate people who have probably, at their stage of life, lost everything. And the thing that probably stings the most and pushed them over the edge into this action was the fact that they have no legal recourse under a rigged system whatsoever.

I appreciate what you're saying, and that they probably did lose quite a bit of money, but the market is a risky place. If you want low risk, go with government securities or an FDIC insured savings account.

The housing bubble wasn't completely unknown, economist Dean Baker, who has a wonderful blog here, was screaming that the sky was falling more than a year before the housing bubble burst. So you can't say that nobody tried to warn us.

Some hedge fund managers bet the farm on it, as well:

BOSTON (Reuters) - Millions of Americans may be facing the prospect of losing their homes, but a handful of fund managers have become the best paid in their industry -- taking home 10-figure paychecks last year -- by betting against mortgages.

www.reuters.com...

So this is really just a case of "easy money" backfiring on investors who didn't do their due diligence, and tried to ride a gravy train that everybody knew about, and produced seemingly impossible returns. Ever hear the expression "too good to be true?" That's what this was.

reply to post by Kaytagg


Well, you know what? I tried to tell my grandparents early last year in February or so, that things were going to hell and that they should take action to secure their money. But they are of the Greatest Generation, a generation characterized by hard work, honor and commitment. They trusted their investment adviser and projected their own values and morals on to him.

Unfortunately they were very wrong because, you see, he is just part of a corrupt system that has become, essentially, sanctioned gambling. It wasn't like that when they first started putting their savings in the stock market but that is what is has become.