Burning Down the House

The collapse of E. F. Hutton, once one of America's most successful financial institutions, is a penetrating tale of greed and power gone amok. In blind pursuit of enormous profits, Hutton spiraled out of control, finally pleading guilty to over 2,000 counts of fraud. But Hutton's problems lay deeper than even the revealing details of its outlandish schemes: It was ripped apart by huge egos, intense personal battles, and a search for a scapegoat — resulting in the bitter final fight for control and a scramble for the spoils as it went under. _Burning Down the House_ is the gripping inside story of this orgy of greed, told by New York Times reporter James Sterngold who covered the story from beginning to end. At the center of the storm is the raging duel between the hard-drinking, self-indulgent Hutton chairman Robert Fomon, and his hand-picked president Robert (Ritt) Rittereiser, who innocently believed he had finally made it to the top with his appointment. Fomon's antics had entered Wall Street legend: his public humiliation of employees; his heavy drinking, which contributed to his declining health; and a management philosophy that allowed the corrupt schemes at Hutton to flouri