[quote=scaredycat]Conviction may be difficult but just the risk of swift prosecution may be enough. A small chance if loss would be unacceptable to mgt in that position[/quote]
Scaredy: Being an attorney (and I don’t know your area of practice), I’d be curious as to your take on the badly bungled SEC prosecution of Madoff, as well as their ineptitude in suing Goldman Sachs.
While I understand that any prosecutions relative to the Gulf spill would be handled by the Justice Department and not the SEC, I think that a comparison is valid, in that it would be the US Government asserting their power and alleging criminal acts. While the SEC/Goldman donnybrook is civil, not criminal, the SEC/Madoff prosecution includes literally dozens of criminal charges.
The point I’m making is that the US Government has proven itself some inept in the past in this regard, just look at the many failed attempts to put John Gotti away.
Not saying that they shouldn’t be doing this, but it is worth discussing a better approach if/when they do.
