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Goldman Sachs has a no good, very bad day

Tuesday, 20 April 2004 01:20 PM

Public relations teams at Goldman Sachs offices worldwide will be working late tonight on spin control.

First, a court convicted a high-level secretary in the firm of fraudulently taking over £4 million from her bosses there, all the while telling them she suffered from cervical cancer and racking up rave performance reviews.

To her colleagues and employers, she was the epitome of efficiency - a "very competent employee, highly regarded, very good at her job ... who came to enjoy an absolute and complete level of trust".

But behind lurked a "very clever con artist" whose "unsurpassed lying" and ability as a forger paved the way to "phenomenal wealth".

Then, the Wall Street Journal published an article (no link, but it runs on April 20 in section C, page 1, authored by Susanne Craig) entitled "'Apprentice' Runner-Up Got Trumped by Own Experience" that claims that Kwame Jackson's soft-pedal style, which many blame for his losing the show, was learned in his time at Goldman Sachs.

Goldman prides itself on its low profile; its downtown Manhattan headquarters here doesn't have a sign noting the firm's presence. Mr. Trump, on the other hand ... well, his self-promotion is legendary: His name is on everything from helicopters to casinos to bottles of water.

Actually, there does seem to be a theme running through the two incidents: people lying to their superiors:

His style hurt him most when it came to dealing with cast member Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth, whom Mr. Jackson picked to be on his team in one of the final episodes despite her track record on the show as a schemer. She lied to him, costing him points with Mr. Trump, who said Mr. Jackson should have "fired her or severely reprimanded her" after this incident.

Bad things come in threes, you know. Everyone left at Goldman had best watch his back.

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Copyright © 2004 – 2007 Cynthia Closkey