Office of U.S. Trustee vs. Harmon - Witness Robert Rubin

THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

OFFICE OF THE U.S. TRUSTEE

David C. Farmer, Successor Trustee
vs.
Bobby N. Harmon

(Formerly Mary Lou Woo vs. Harmon and James Nicholson vs. Harmon)

CV05-00030 DAE/KSC

United States District Court, District of Hawaii

Judges: David A. Ezra; Kevin S. Chang

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DEFENDANT’S WITNESS

ROBERT RUBIN

Address to be Determined

Robert Rubin became U.S. Secretary of Treasury, succeeding Lloyd Bentsen, during the Clinton Administration; former Vice Chairman and Co-Chief Operating Officer of Goldman Sachs, and served as its Co-Chairman and Co-Senior Partner along with Steve Friedman. Upon leaving Goldman Sachs to take his Treasury position, Rubin “insured” his substantial stake in Goldman Sachs through Bishop Estate. Rubin left the Clinton Administration and joined Citigroup as an executive in October, 1999. He sparked controversy in 2001 when he contacted an acquaintance at the Treasury Department and asked if the department could convince bond-rating agencies to not downgrade the corporate debt of Enron. Enron was a debtor to Citigroup, and Rubin’s intention was for Enron creditors to loan the trouble company money to restructure its debt and prevent the company’s collapse. However, the Treasury official refused, and a subsequent congressional staff investigation cleared Rubin of any wrongdoing.

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NEW DISCOVERY: (07/09/10): More undisclosed conflicts of interests between various parties related to this case:

LET THE PLUNDER BEGIN: THE RETURN OF ROBERT RUBIN

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NEW DISCOVERY (03/30/09): Undisclosed conflicts of interest between Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the United States Department of Justice, Office of the U.S. Trustee, Curtis Ching, Carol Muranaka, Guido Giacometti, Susan Tius, Sukamto Sia, Bank of Honolulu, Diane Plotts, Bob Awana, Linda Lingle, Citigroup, Robert Rubin, Bill Clinton, John Waihee, Ben Cayetano, Goldman Sachs, Colbert Matsumoto, Henry Peters, Matsuo Takabuki, Richard Wong, Jeff Stone, Oswald Stender, Gerard Jervis, Lokelani Lindsey, Nathan Aipa, Colleen Wong, Louanne Kam, John Candon, Clifford Laughton, Timothy Johns, Bishop Museum, Nainoa Thompson, Mark Polivka, Judge Eden Elizabeth Hifo (fka Bambi Weil), Judge Lloyd King, Judge Robert Faris, Judge David A. Ezra, Judge Barry Kurren, Mary Lou Woo, James B. Nicholson, David C. Farmer, Steven Guttman, etc.:

August 24, 2000

Executive Centre
units auctioned
for $4 mil

Ownership of the properties
could change during
another round of bids

By Peter Wagner, Star-Bulletin

A Nevada investor has outbid Citibank on 32 residential and two commercial units at Executive Centre, the downtown high rise that once belonged to Indonesian investor Sukamto Sia.

But with court confirmation and another round of bids possibly ahead, ownership of the property is yet to be determined.

Clifford Laughton, president of the Reno-based Nevada Holdings Ltd. and chief executive at Honolulu-based satellite company Columbia Communications Corp., yesterday made the winning bid of $4,000,100.

Laughton's bid topped a $4 million offer by Citibank N.A., the only other bidder at a foreclosure auction at the state courthouse yesterday.

The leasehold properties include 31 residential units, a penthouse, two commercial spaces occupied by Sprint Hawaii and Fujikami Florist and 65 parking stalls.

The heavily mortgaged 41-story building, at 1088 Bishop Street also includes a 120-room Aston hotel, retail outlets including Long's Drugs and Ross Dress For Less and nearly 300 residential units.

The entire property was appraised last year at $39.5 million.

Citibank, the major creditor in a foreclosure action against one of Sia's company's, MKS Executive Partners, took possession last month of most of the 41-story building in a complex bankruptcy deal in which Sia's estate will receive about $500,000.

Citibank affiliate EXCT L.P. took ownership of about 400 units on July 28.

Sia, currently in Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation, originally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in November 1998.

While Citibank yesterday allowed itself to be outbid by $100, the sale is far from over. Under rules of the foreclosure, new bids may be entertained at confirmation but must be at least 5 percent above the auction price.

Foreclosure commissioner John Candon said at least three parties who were silent during yesterday's auction have asked when the confirmation hearing would be. No date has been set.

Laughton yesterday said he would likely honor existing leases at Executive Centre if he remains the high bidder. He said the units are a good investment because of depressed property values and a strong rental market in the downtown area.

While Executive Centre was once a key holding of Sia in Honolulu, the bankruptcy trustee was unable to liquidate the property for creditors because Sia held no equity in it.

His ownership in the building was through MKS Executive Partners, one of his numerous companies.

The 40-year-old businessman owes nearly $300 million to casinos, banks and creditors around the world.

www.archives.starbulletin.com/2000/08/24/business/story1.html

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NEW DISCOVERY (03-14-09): More undisclosed conflicts of interest between Steven Guttman, Mary Lou Woo, David Farmer, Larry Johnson, Robert Kihune, Sandwich Isles Communications, Bank of Hawaii, Gilbert Tam, Barack Obama, Steve Case, AOL, Dan Case, Punahou School, Citigroup, Robert Rubin, Henry Paulson, Suzanne Case, Faye Kurren, The Nature Conservancy, Goldman Sachs, Kamehameha Schools, etc.

March 14, 2009

Ex-CEO of Bankoh considered
for Citigroup board

By David Segal, Honolulu Star-Bulletin

Former Bank of Hawaii Chief Executive Michael O'Neill reportedly is one of the candidates being considered for a position on the board of directors at financially troubled Citigroup Inc.

O'Neill, who turned around Bankoh's lagging fortunes in less than four years before retiring at age 57 in August 2004, was mentioned along with former U.S. Bancorp CEO Jerry Grundhofer and William S. Thompson, former co-chief of bond investment manager Pimco, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper said Citigroup is expected to announce the board changes next week when it files its proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any nominees would have to be formally approved by the board and voted on by shareholders.

O'Neill took over then-called Pacific Century Financial Corp. from Larry Johnson on Nov. 3, 2000, and in less than four years transformed the bank into a more efficient operation, elevated earnings to record highs and increased shareholder value nearly fourfold.

He also became somewhat of a TV personality with the bank's "Tell Mike" campaign.

Richard Parsons, a one-time University of Hawaii student who took over as chairman last month, is one of the few Citigroup directors with experience in both banking and leading a large company.

Honolulu Star-Bulletin

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NEW DISCOVERY (01-09-09):

January 9, 2009

Rubin to leave Citigroup, Wall Street Journal says

By Alistair Barr

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Robert Rubin, President Clinton's former Treasury Secretary, plans to leave Citigroup Inc. after criticism of his role in the financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday citing an unidentified person familiar with the situation.

Rubin is senior counselor and a director at Citi, which has suffered $20 billion in losses in the past year and succumbed to a government bailout of at least $45 billion. Citigroup's troubles cast an awkward spotlight on Rubin, who received $115 million in pay since 1999, excluding stock options, the newspaper said.

Rubin has defended his performance since joining Citigroup in 1999, insisting that the bank's problems were due to wider turmoil in the financial system, not failures by Citigroup, but he is "tired of it," the person told the Journal. Rubin wants to focus instead on non-profit work and other interests.

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January 9, 2009

Citigroup director Robert Rubin
resigns as adviser

By Madlen Read, Ap Business Writer 2 hrs 14 mins ago

NEW YORK – Citigroup said Friday that board member Robert Rubin, the former U.S. Treasury secretary, has resigned as a senior adviser to the big financial services company.

Rubin, 70, will continue to serve as a director until his term expires at the next annual meeting in the spring, Citigroup said.

The veteran of Wall Street and Washington has drawn criticism for his inability to prevent the bank's recent problems that sent shares plunging and drove it to seek federal assistance.

Citigroup has been one of the hardest hit banks by the housing market downturn due to its heavy investments in mortgages and other types of loans. Analysts believe Citigroup will report a fifth straight quarterly loss when it releases fourth-quarter results later this month.

Rubin had been slowly paring back his role Citigroup for months, after chairman of the bank for about a month after it ousted former chairman and CEO Charles Prince in November 2007. Win Bischoff became Citi's chairman in December 2007, and investment banking head Vikram Pandit became CEO.

"This is not a decision that I have come to lightly," Rubin said in a letter released by the bank. "But as I enter my 70s and with all that is now in place at Citi, I believe the time has come for me to make these changes."

He also wrote: "My great regret is that I and so many of us who have been involved in this industry for so long did not recognize the serious possibility of the extreme circumstances that the financial system faces today."

In August 2008, Rubin gave up his title as head of the board's executive committee, and became a "senior counselor" instead.

Rubin was U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton. For several decades prior to that, he worked at the Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs.

Citigroup shares fell 38 cents, or 5.3 percent, to $6.78 in late afternoon trading.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090109/ap_on_bi_ge/citigroup_rubin

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ROBERT RUBIN AND THE ETHICAL CONFLICTS OF
THE REVOLVING DOOR

By Timothy A. Canova

This past November, President Clinton signed into law the Financial Services Modernization Act, thereby repealing the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act and permitting commercial banks, securities firms and insurance companies to merge with each other on a scale not seen since the 1929 stock market crash. In reporting of this watershed moment, the mainstream press refused to offer any criticism of the substance of the legislation or the corrupt political process that brought it about.

For instance, the New York Times completely white-washed the ethical conflicts of Robert Rubin, the U.S. Treasury Secretary until this past summer, who openly boasted of lobbying his former employer to abolish the Glass-Steagall Act while also negotiating an incredibly lucrative position for himself with Citigroup, a company that stands to benefit greatly by the legislative compromise brokered by Mr. Rubin (‘Former Treasury Secretary Joins Leadership Triangle at Citigroup,' N.Y. Times, news report, Oct. 27th). In fact, repeal of Glass-Steagall was a high priority for Citigroup, which faced the possibility of having to sell off its insurance underwriting subsidiary if Glass-Steagall was not repealed.

Mr. Rubin made assurances that, in his new position as chairman of the executive committee of Citigroup's board of directors, he would take a "belt and suspenders" approach to ethics questions, and that he would be involved in business and not lobbying. But rather than adopting such ethical double-protection, Mr. Rubin let his pants fall down completely when he simultaneously engaged in lobbying and job hunting.

Instead, the Times report implied that we should actually thank Mr. Rubin for "urging Congress and the White House to preserve the Community Reinvestment Act [CRA], which requires banks to channel a portion of their lending to poor, inner city areas." In an obvious appeal to liberal sentiment, the Times further reported that Mr. Rubin had professed his great concern for the poor and his satisfaction that his lobbying for CRA was reflected in the final legislative compromise.

Behind this cynical justification of revolving-door opportunism and flagrant self-dealing lies a complete mischaracterization of the Community Reinvestment Act as an effective vehicle for allocating credit to poor neighborhoods. In fact, there is widespread evidence that CRA already falls short of its legislative mandate by permitting banks to engage in public relations, meaningless reporting requirements, and token charitable contributions in place of substantive investment in low- and moderate-income communities.

But despite such deficiencies, Mr. Rubin's-brokered compromise included significant dilution of the Community Reinvestment Act by exempting small banks from regular compliance reviews (‘Deal on Bank Bill Was Helped Along By Midnight Talks,' N.Y. Times, news report, Oct. 24th). Unfortunately, this weakening of CRA comes at a time when it should be strengthened to extend prosperity to poor neighborhoods that have not shared in our present economic expansion. Instead, Mr. Rubin peddled his influence to his own advantage by selling the Community Reinvestment Act down the river.

Several days after the Glass-Steagall repeal was signed into law, a coalition of consumer and community groups (including consumer advocate Ralph Nader) submitted a letter to the Office of Government Ethics calling for an ethics investigation into Mr. Rubin's simultaneous job hunting and lobbying activities (‘Inquiry Urged on Taking of Job By Former Treasury Secretary,' N.Y. Times, news report, Nov. 18, 1999). Federal law requires retired Government officials to refrain from lobbying their former agency on behalf of a new employer for at least one year after leaving public service. A violation of such lobbying restrictions is a federal criminal offense under the Ethics in Government Act, 18 United States Code Section 207.

In addition, the Clinton Administration has continually patted itself on the back for requiring its top officials to pledge that they will not lobby their agencies for at least five years after leaving office. In his assurances that he would take an overly-safe approach to ethics questions, Mr. Rubin also said that he would regularly consult with lawyers to make sure that his work for Citigroup did not raise questions about influence peddling or conflicts of interest. Mr. Rubin's lawyers should now be asked to justify how his simultaneous lobbying for himself and Citigroup's interest does not violate federal law.

In light of Mr. Rubin's brazen activities, one wonders just what it would take for Congress or the Clinton Administration to investigate ethical violations of former top officials. If only the stakes were confined to Mr. Rubin's new eight-digit annual salary. But with the repeal of Glass-Steagall, the weakening of the Community Reinvestment Act, and the prospect that our banks will now get caught up in today's casino stock market, Americans may eventually pay a much higher price for Mr. Rubin's ethical conflicts.

Timothy A. Canova is an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of New Mexico.

http://web2.uwindsor.ca/flipside/vol3/jan00/00ja17b.htm

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The Long Demise of Glass-Steagal

A chronology tracing the life of the Glass-Steagall Act, from its passage in 1933 to its death throes in the 1990s, and how Citigroup's Sandy Weill dealt the coup de grâce:

PBS

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NEW DISCOVERY (08-15-08): Undisclosed conflicts of interests between Senator Dan Inouye, Senator Ted Stevens, VECO Corporation, George W. Bush, John McCain, Dick Cheney, Halliburton, Shell Oil, Barack Obama, Aloha Petroleum, James Ahloy, Chevron-Texaco, Mark Bennett, Linda Lingle, Tesoro Petroleum, Faye Kurren, Judge Barry Kurren, Enron, Goldman Sachs, Robert Rubin, Henry Paulson, Henry Peters, Paul Alston, etc.:

December 6, 1996

ENRON and Shell Win Bid in
Capitalization of YPFB's
Transportation Segment

LA PAZ, BOLIVIA – Enron Development Corp. and Shell International Gas Ltd. announced today that the government of Bolivia has named the companies the successful capitalizing company for the transportation segment of the state oil and gas company, Yacimientos Petroliferos...

Business Wire

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March 30, 1998

The following is an excerpt from a 10-K SEC Filing, filed by TESORO PETROLEUM CORP /NEW/ on 3/30/1998:

ACCESS TO NEW MARKETS

A lack of market access has constrained natural gas production in Bolivia. With little internal gas demand, all of the Company's Bolivian natural gas production is sold under contract to the Bolivian government for export to Argentina.

Major developments in South America indicate that new markets will open for the Company's production. Construction of a new 1,900-mile pipeline that will link Bolivia's extensive gas reserves with markets in Brazil commenced in 1997 and is expected to be operational in early 1999.

The owners of the new pipeline include Petrobras (the Brazilian state oil company), other Brazilian investors, Enron Corp., Shell International Gas Ltd., British Gas PLC, El Paso Energy Corp., BHP, and Bolivian pension funds. When completed, the new pipeline will have a capacity of approximately 1 billion cubic feet ("Bcf") per day.

For more, see...

Googling the Ghost of Ken Lay

Aloha, Harken Energy

Citigroup: Vampires in the City

Dirty Gold in Goldman Sachs

Shell Oil: The Shell Game

The Story of Enron

Vultures Up to their Necks in Tesoro Petroleum

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NEW DISCOVERY (07-12-08):

Harken Energy & The SEC

~ ~ ~NEW DISCOVERY (04-22-08): David Farmer’s undisclosed connections with AIPAC and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin:

From Exhibit: “CONNECTING THE DIRTY DOTS TO AIPAC”:

David C. Farmer, Successor-Trustee vs. Harmon

(Formerly Woo vs. Harmon & Nicholson vs. Harmon)

CV05-00030 DAE KSC

U.S. District Court For the District of Hawaii

Judges: David A. Ezra; Kevin S. Chang

—

DEFENDANT’S EXHIBIT

—

A few words of explanation:

In his "MEMORANDUM IN OPPOSITION TO DEBTOR'S MOTION FOR ORDER TO DISAPPROVE APPOINTMENT OF DAVID C. FARMER AS SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE", filed with the Court on August 24, 2007, the Trustee's attorney, Steven Guttman, Esq., of the law firm, Kessner Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga, stated to the Court:

"... Harmon is once again attempting to create issues of conflict where none exist by attempting to draw connections between phantom dots."...

Mr. Guttman does not elaborate beyond this simple statement of HIS PERSONAL OPINION, as to WHICH of the thousands of connections I have cited that he wishes the Court to accept, without question, as being merely "phantom dots". In other court filings, Mr. Guttman has characterized my Motions as consisting of "conspiracy theories" -- again with no specific references.

Despite these unnamed "phantom dots" and "conspiracy theories", the Court has blithely and unquestionably gone along with Mr. Guttman's opinions and has repeatedly denied ALL Motions that I have made. In fact, both Courts involved have ruled that the Court Clerk shall not accept any future filings from me without the Courts' prior approval - which it has repeatedly declined to give.

Therefore, due to the fact that I continue to discover new, material FACTS almost daily, I am preparing a set of NEW EXHIBITS in which I intend to document the financial, professional, personal, and political connections between the many various entities involved in this case.

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The following is a listing of named witnesses in this case who have factual connections with the subject entity. Each underlined name has been linked to a detailed description of that witness to enable the reader to more easily CONNECT THE DOTS TO...

Judith Neustadter Fuqua

James B. “Jim” Nicholson

Dan Inouye

LEARN MORE ABOUT AIPAC:

http://www.stopaipac.org/

http://www.stopaipac.org/spystory.htm

www.hadassah.org/education/content/influentials_israel.asp

http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/021108/hawaii.shtml

http://www.tbrnews.org/Archives/a1721.htm

http://www.antiwar.com/cole/?articleid=3467

http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2007/06/lfow.html

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=AIPAC

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/01/03/6138/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zidtiC-UPNU

http://www.franklingate.com/aipac-cheney.htm

http://www.kycbs.net/AIPAC-Obama.mht

http://www.kycbs.net/AIPAC-Bush-Abramoff-Greenberg.mht

http://www.kycbs.net/AIPAC-Mische-7-11-7.mht

http://youtube.com/watch?v=vwV6O5AGKyw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8gHmJUa720

http://ifamericaknew.com/us_ints/mc-aipac.html

http://www.antiwar.com/glantz/?articleid=9697

www.literarylotus.com/2007/12/wimr-brian-schatz.html

http://www.kycbs.net/AIPAC-Lingle-Abramoff-Brownstein.mht

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NEW DISCOVERY (04-12-08):

April 12, 2008

David C. Farmer, Esq.
Office of the United States Trustee
c/o Steven Guttman, Esq., Kessner Duca Umebayashi, et al.
220 S. King Street, Floor 10
Honolulu, HI 96813

Re: 99-04339 - David C. Farmer, Trustee vs. Bobby N. Harmon
Ref. New Exhibit: “THE DIRTY MILLIONS FOR ARMAGEDDON”

Dear Mr. Farmer:

Due to new discoveries regarding the Integrated Resources securities fraud and illegal U.S. political campaign funding by foreign nationals (Israel), I am adding the subject Exhibit. You will find this new Exhibit and related witness descriptions at:

http://www.kycbs.net/Dirty-Millions.htm

http://www.kycbs.net/CV05-00030-Witness-Lingle-Linda.htm

http://www.kycbs.net/CV05-00030-Witness-McCain-John.htm

http://www.kycbs.net/CV05-00030-Witness-Kissinger-Henry.htm

http://www.kycbs.net/CV05-00030-Witness-Black-Conrad.htm

http://www.kycbs.net/CV05-00030-Witness-Farmer-David.htm

Mr. Farmer, I again suggest that we try to resolve this matter through negotiation rather that your continuing indefinitely this illegal SLAPP lawsuit.

Very truly yours,

Bobby N. Harmon, CPCU, ARM

cc: U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey
E-mail: <AskDOJ@usdoj.gov>

Curtis Ching, Office of the United States Trustee
Fax: (808) 522-8156

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Robert Rubin is expected to testify regarding his business, professional, political and personal relationships with Hillary Clinton, Henry “Hank” Paulson, James A. Baker, John Snow, “Hank” Greenberg, Marsh & McLennan, Chubb Group, Matsuo Takabuki, Henry Peters, William S. Richardson, Rodney Park, Wally Chin, Mark McConaghy, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Gerard Jervis, John Waihee, Nathan Aipa, Colleen Wong, Lyn Anzai, Gilbert Tam, Robert Kihune, Columbia/HCA, Bill Frist, Richard Rainwater, John Schilling, Barack Obama, Laurence Summers, Carol Muranaka, James B. “Jim” Nicholson, James B. Nicholson, David Farmer, Henry Paulson, and others to be determined upon discovery.