Description

"Ferdinand Pecora's famous 10-day investigation into the secrets of Wall Street in 1933 makes a superb story...It has an ideal storyteller in Michael Perino." -Financial Times

A riveting courtroom drama with remarkable contemporary relevance, The Hellhound of Wall Street brings to life a crucial turning point in American financial history: the 1933 hearings that put Wall Street on trial for the Great Crash. Michael Perino recreates the ten dramatic days when Ferdinand Pecora, a Sicilian immigrant turned Senate investigator, cross-examined the officers of National City Bank (today's Citigroup), particularly its chairman, Charles Mitchell, one of the best-known bankers of his day. Pecora's rigorous questioning exposed City Bank's shocking financial abuses, revelations that galvanized public opinion and led directly to the New Deal's landmark economic reforms.

About the Author

Michael Perino is the Dean George W. Matheson Professor of Law at St. John's University Law School. He is a former Wall Street litigator and has appeared on NPR's All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Marketplace, Bill Moyer's Journal, and CNBC. He lives in New Jersey.