Podcast Proposal
In this podcast, disgraced financier Richard Cohen talks about his former life, and the events that compelled him to commit one of the largest Ponzi schemes in financial history. To start with, Cohen gives an account of his new life behind bars, and what it means to no longer possess the material trappings of an incredibly well respected Hedge Fund manager. Gone are the homes, cars, and planes, all that exists now is an angry list of ripped off investors, and one hour per day of recreational time. From there, he touches on his background, and how a rough childhood in the south Bronx compelled his need to prosper financially, regardless of the ramifications. Finally, he touches on his family, and how his wife and children have forever been affected by the many negative decisions made throughout the course of his career.
Podcast:
Cohen: It’s dark in here. I’ve been locked away for almost six months now and my eyes still haven’t adjusted to the dim lighting. It’s not as if I really care, I mean I now spend 23 hours a day trapped in an eight by ten-foot cage. That’s not even the worst part. It seems as if the guards and other inmates had access to all the cable channels broadcasting my trial. Every time I walk down a hall, or exercise in the yard, I’m met with jeers, shoves, and even some punches. To make matters worse, the guards don’t seem to be fans of protecting someone who is serving ten years in jail for supposedly ripping off children’s charities. When I’m attacked, they usually let a few nice punches be thrown before finally intervening.
However, what most of these guys don’t realize is that I’m Bronx born and raised. Although I’ve spent the past couple of years over at the Equinox I learned how to throw a proper punch in the alley behind my grandfather’s old meat store. Thinking about it, growing up was almost tougher than getting along in here. My dad worked over at the Newark municipal docks before he blew his knee out and got disability. I guess before all this shit happened you could say I had managed to achieve the American dream. I was always big for my age, and by the time high school rolled around I weighed over 215 pounds of muscle. Combined with my half decent academic ability, and poor boy background, i managed to get the attention of the Dartmouth football coach. To this day, I still remember showing up for the first week of classes. I felt so out of place in my second-hand clothing holding a single worn suitcase as my rich classmates and their families trickled onto campus.
Yet, in a weird way, I now look back on college as some of the fondest times of my life. I met my wife, soon to be ex, while mopping the floors of her sorority house to pay down my student loans. Its cliché as hell, but I remember falling for her almost instantly. I had never had trouble with women, back home growing up I was always seen as a bit of a catch. However, my first interaction with Dartmouth girls was different. To be blunt many were stuck up. They looked down on me and behind my back referred to me as “the scholarship kid.” I think that’s the reason why I fell so hard for Susie. She was probably the richest of the bunch and yet she could have cared less what I did. However, after going home with her that Thanksgiving, and seeing the life she lived, I realized that I wanted to raise my family the very same way.
By the time graduation came around, we were still together so her dad, probably taking pity on me, threw me a job at his fancy hedge fund. A few years passed and I started to make big money. Susie and I got married, we had a kid, and I even bought my parents a house in the country. Damn, looking back at it now I really had everything man. I wish I could tell you what compelled me to do what I did but I just can’t. I pissed it all away, the life I had always wanted with the woman I had always loved. Look at me now. I’m sitting here in an oversized yellow jumpsuit waiting to talk to my kid through six inches of bulletproof glass. To put it lightly this is not exactly what I envisioned for myself.
