I stumbled across this clip today when I was researching the story on JP Morgan fraud in the Petters Ponzi case.  Notice his tone and meandering train of thought.  It sort of screams out 'speed junkie.'  And that's not a huge surprise given this story from the original Ponzi bust.

Source - Minn Star Tribune

The former corporate counsel for Tom Petters faces three felony drug possession charges involving cocaine, ecstasy and methamphetamine stemming from a 2008 raid at the headquarters of Petters Group Worldwide in Minnetonka, according to a complaint obtained Wednesday.

David E. Baer, 37, of Eden Prairie, was the chief legal counsel for Petters Group Worldwide and Petters Companies, Inc.

The complaint says FBI agents searched Baer's office when they raided Petters' headquarters at 4400 Baker Road on Sept. 24, 2008. The agents found a safe under Baer's desk with his passport and the drugs, according to the complaint.

The FBI found cocaine in several containers, including a bottle with Baer's name, the complaint said. An analysis by the Minneapolis city chemist determined that there was 7.4 grams of cocaine in the safe.

The complaint said agents also found pills with a variety of imprints that appeared to be ecstasy, including 10 with a bird imprint that tested positive as the drug, sometimes called MDMA, or just X, for methylenedioxymethamphetamine.

http://www.startribune.com/local/107067353.html

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Here's more background on the Petters story...

Clawback suit seeks more than $3 billion of Ponzi scheme cash

A Chicago hedge fund manager and philanthropist is the latest subject of clawback litigation in the aftermath of the collapsed Tom Petters Ponzi scheme.

The trustee in the Petters bankruptcy case is seeking at least $323 million in "false profits" from Steve Stevanovich and his Epsilon and Westford hedge funds, and as much as $3.2 billion in total transfers between the funds and Petters Co. Inc.

Stevanovich "became exceptionally wealthy" through profits from his "active and direct involvement" in the Petters scheme and lived an "extravagant lifestyle, including maintaining a mansion in Montreux, Switzerland," said the lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

http://www.startribune.com/business/104611104.html

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Minnetonka hedge fund faces $5.1B clawback in Petters case

Bankruptcy trustee said size of returns should have been a clue that something was amiss.

http://www.startribune.com/business/104387338.html

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Tom Petters, then and now

http://www.startribune.com/local/33288109.html

Traces his fraud history

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Part 1: The collapse of the Petters empire - Video

Tom Petters, accused of massive investment fraud, has been a salesman since his youth. "He could talk your wallet right out of your pocket," a former boss says.

http://www.startribune.com/business/33287804.html

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Trust Me

Federal investigators allege that Tom Petters spent years building a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme to finance his luxe lifestyle. So why didn’t sophisticated investors see any red flags?

http://www.minnesotamonthly.com/media/Minnesota-Monthly/September-2009/Trust-Me/

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J.P. Morgan Sued For Role In Hedge Fund Ponzi

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A court-appointed receiver trying to recover funds for victims of Tom Petters' Ponzi scheme has sued JPMorgan Chase & Co. for more than $300 million, alleging the bank should have known that money it seized from Petters was the result of fraud.

http://dailybail.com/home/jp-morgan-sued-for-role-in-hedge-fund-ponzi.html

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Tom Petters' employees told to give back the bonuses

Tom Petters must be one of the worst bosses of all time. First, the guy gets busted in a $3.5 billion Ponzi scheme that makes anything Petters-related an epic negative on the resume. Now, his ex-employees have to give up the one perk left: The dirty money. About 70 former Petters workers have received letters demanding they give back bonuses handed out years ago. Some may not be so easy to pay back; the largest bonuses top out in the millions.

http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2010/09/tom_petters_leg.php

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This is the most outrageous of all the stories...

Tom Petters appeals as pauper and seeks public defence

Tearing a page from the Denny Hecker instructional manual on getting the public to cover the costs of private enterprise deceit, convicted Ponzi schemer Tom Petters filed notice on Tuesday in the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that he intends to appeal his conviction -- and he wants taxpayers to foot the bill.

Petters, found guilty in December of running a $3.7 billion Ponzi scheme, and sentenced last week to 50 years behind bars, says he's broke. Corporate insurance that covered his criminal defense costs won't pay for an appeal. And he wants one of his defense attorneys, Eric Riensche, to defend him on the government's dime.

http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2010/04/tom_petters_to_1.php

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Michelle Bachmann on Pawlenty and Ponzi Schemes...

What is the nature of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's relationship with convicted money launderer and Tom Petters associate Frank Vennes Jr.?  And why did he want him pardoned?

 VIEW VIDEOS

http://dailybail.com/home/tom-petters-convicted-hedge-fund-ponzi-master-gives-drug-add.html

Jan. 4, 2011