Eric Griego, House Candidate in New Mexico, Wants Corrupt Bankers to Go to Jail

Griego has plans at the federal level, many of them laid out in this op-ed. He wants to see more money and resources appropriated to existing investigations of the banks, including the task force co-chaired by NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on mortgage securitization practices:

Here are five specific things I would do if elected to Congress:

• Fight to increase 20-fold the number of investigators for the financial crimes federal task force led by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Right now, this task force only has 55 investigators and prosecutors. The Savings and Loan crisis of the 1980s was staffed with over 1,000 investigators, experts and prosecutors. That effort yielded more than 600 convictions and $130 million for taxpayers. One of the first bills I offer will be to increase the funding and staffing for this financial crimes task force.
• Push for increased funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – the federal watchdog on Wall Street, created by Elizabeth Warren – to strengthen its investigative capabilities. Even a small additional investment can avert billions, or trillions, of dollars in economic damage by Wall Street.
• Push the U.S. Justice Department to more aggressively prosecute white-dollar crimes by Wall Street bankers. To this day, not one Wall Street banker who broke the law, tanked the economy and took away people’s homes and savings is in jail. We need to hold them accountable, and members of Congress can exert key leverage with the Justice Department to make investigations and prosecutions happen.
• Strengthen the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and close the loophole in the legislation’s “Volcker Rule” that was exploited by JPMorgan recently – when their risky bets lost $2 billion. Many of the legislation’s provisions are designed to go in effect in 2014, so the rules are still being written. Congress can’t allow Wall Street bankers to write their own rules – we need Wall Street reform to stay on the agenda in Congress.
• Pass a new Glass-Steagall Act to separate investment banks from traditional banking – so people’s life savings are not gambled away by Wall Street. Elizabeth Warren and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee started a grassroots campaign for a new Glass-Steagall on Monday, and within hours over 40,000 people joined the cause. I’m proud to be one of those people – and passing a new Glass-Steagall will be a priority of mine in Congress.