Jeb Bush and Armondo Codina Make No Payments and Keep Millions
1985
US National debt $1,823,100,000,000.
USA
On February 1, Broward Federal loaned $4,565,000 to real estate developer J. Edward Houston, secured only by Houston's personal guarantee. The same day, a company headed by Houston turned around and loaned the same amount to a partnership of Jeb Bush and Miami real estate developer Armondo Codina for them to buy a five-story building in Miami's financial district.
Curiously, the Bush-Codina partnership was required to repay the loan from Houston "only as, if and to the extent that the cash flow from the building was sufficient to support those payments." In fact, Bush and Codina made no payments at all on the loan prior to the final default settlement.
In March, it came to public knowledge that the large Cincinnati, Ohio-based Home State Savings Bank was about to collapse. Ohio Gov. Richard F. Celeste declared a bank holiday in the state as Home State depositors lined up in a "run" on the bank's branches in order to withdraw their deposits. Celeste ordered the closure of all the state's Savings and Loans. Only those that were able to qualify for membership in the FDIC were allowed to reopen. Claims by Ohio Savings and Loan depositors drained the state's deposit insurance funds. A similar event also took place in Maryland.
Charles Keating hires Alan Greenspan to write a letter to Ed Gray extolling the virtues of Lincoln Saving and Loan.
1986
US National debt $2,125,300,000,000.
1987
US National debt $2,350,276,890,953.
USA
President Ronald Reagan issues EO 12608, revoking paragraph (f) from EO 10289 when he eliminates unnecessary executive orders. That removed the authority to investigate silver sales.
Reagan appoints Alan Greenspan to replace Paul Volker as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.
J. Edward Houston defaulted on the $4.5 million Broward Federal loan. The S&L sued both him and the Bush-Codina partnership. In an unusual settlement with the FDIC, Bush and Codina were obligated to repay just $500,000 of the loan and got to keep the building in the Miami financial district that collateralized the loan.
On October 19, the DJIA lost over 500 points.
Germany
Margrit Kennedy publishes "Interest and Inflation-Free Money, Creating an Exchange Medium that works for Everybody and Protects the Earth" [2][3]. In the book she predicts that the accumulation of debt through interest will cause another Great Depression.
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