Congressional 3rd Degree

Congressional equiry yesterday called in Richard Fuld who headed up Lehman Brothers and sought to paint him as the very face of the greed that caused the whole of the financial crisis. The hearing took place just as stock markets plunged to new historical lows in New York. Q&A snippets include:
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the chairman of the House Oversight Government Reform Committee, "Your company is now bankrupt and our country is in a state of crisis - but you get to keep $480 million! I have a very basic question for you: Is that fair?"
Fuld (66') took off his glasses, squirmed, squinted and looked away for a pause moment before muttering something about stock options. Waxman interrupted him to list highlights of Fuld's high lifestyle that includes a $21m Park Ave. flat, a $14m oceanfront Florida estate, other vacation homes, and his wife's multi-million-dollar art collection (which I have to say shows great taste and fine judgement, the art collection that is, containing superb American expressionist paintings and drawings by Arshile Gorky and de Kooning).
"Is that fair for the CEO of a company that is now bankrupt to have made that kind of money? It's just unimaginable to so many people?" Fuld mulled for a good reply.
"I would say to you the 500 number is not accurate. I believe the amount that I took out of the company is a little bit over $250 million!" Fuld's face sans pancake looked like a Hollywood horror creation and could never betray any suitably redeeming emotions during the 2-hour hearing. He explained his bonuses were in stock and he was left holding 10 million worthless shares when the firm failed.
"I was probably the single largest individual shareholder!...I don't expect you to feel sorry for me." Not a good line, not how he said it, and while he had not asked what his motivation in this scene should be, he was told.
Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) "If you haven't discovered your role, you're the villain!" This may have been a reference to the fact that when the 158-year-old firm went down (for about the third or fourth time in its history) thousands of shareholders were wiped out and Lehman employees alone lost $10bn in shares never mind unpaid wages and bonuses (possibly another $3.5bn), but then it is uncertain how many of those no-one should feel sorry for either? CNBC had reported earlier that same day that on Sept. 21, Fuld was on a gym treadmill when a weightlifter walked over and knocked him out cold, which may explain why employees said he he was nowhere to be seen at the moment the company collapsed. Fuld insisted Lehman never misrepresented its finances and said the SEC monitored the firm closely, which may mean Christopher Cox should have something to say too about this.