up by getting Towers involved? What was he about to blurt out? “What kind of issues?”
“James Grannis has a criminal record.” Towers paused, waiting for permission to carry on.
“Criminal? For what?”
“Assault and a bunch of other violent crimes. Seems he’s been in and out of prison for much of his adult life. Well, at least back to his early twenties. Interestingly, I can’t find anything on him before the age of twenty-three, though—no college history, nothing. It’s as though he came out of nowhere.”
Thank God for small mercies. At least Towers had made no connection between Rondell and Chicago. And that meant he would know nothing about Michael’s links with Rondell. “Jeez. He sounds a nasty piece of work. You’ve done well to find all this out, Glen.”
“There’s more.”
Michael sat upright. “Okay. What else do you have?”
Towers sighed. “I took a look at whatever press coverage there was on Grannis and dug around on the web a little.” He fidgeted on his chair. “It’s no more than rumor, so health warning on this next bit.”
Michael’s mouth felt dry. What was he about to hear?
Towers looked as though he was struggling to find the right words again. “There is,” he said, before stopping and cupping his hands together, “some speculation of a mob connection with Grannis.”
Michael didn’t know what to say. He needed to bring this to a halt as soon as he could without appearing to ignore what Towers had uncovered. “I think I’ve heard enough.”
“It would certainly explain the lack of information on their investors.”
“Did you find the names of any?”
“No, nothing. Their fund appears to be all their own money rather than from the usual investor types. Could it be they’re bankrolled by—?”
Michael made a chopping motion across his neck. “I don’t need to hear any more. It’s clear we can’t take these guys on as a client. That’s all we need to know. You’ve done a great job. This is precisely why we need to investigate potential new clients, so we can avoid any embarrassment for the firm.”
Towers appeared disappointed to be halted in mid-flow. “Is there anything else you need me to do on them? I’ve got quite a lot of data on—”
“No. Just leave the papers with me. Let’s not waste any more time on Grannis. They’re history. I want you to focus on the Spar deal now. We have to get that one over the line.”
After Towers left, Michael swiveled his chair away from his desk and toward his window. The rumors that Rondell had mob connections made absolute sense. Where else could his money have come from? No legitimate investor in his right mind would deal with a crook like him. Besides Michael, who else was Rondell leaning on, or paying off, for inside information on public company deals? That had to be where his hedge fund’s strong returns were coming from: illegal trades based on confidential information. The man wouldn’t know a good investment if it was staring him in the face.
In only three days, Michael was expected to start handing over details of one of his deals—the Spar transaction. It was a sickening thought. And now he’d discovered Rondell was backed by organized criminals, there was no way this would stop at Cedar Street. Rondell was bound to pass details of the Spar deal to his backers. And what would stop them trading in the stock? That would massively increase the risk of being caught. A wall of money traded ahead of a public announcement was bound to attract the attention of the authorities. And once they started asking questions, they’d look to the advisers involved in the deal. It wouldn’t be too long before they came searching for the source of the leak at Dudek’s.
Michael closed his eyes. What had previously been a dangerous, but manageable, risk now appeared an almost certain road to incarceration. In light of what he’d just learned, there was no way he could go through with it. Meeting Rondell
“James Grannis has a criminal record.” Towers paused, waiting for permission to carry on.
“Criminal? For what?”
“Assault and a bunch of other violent crimes. Seems he’s been in and out of prison for much of his adult life. Well, at least back to his early twenties. Interestingly, I can’t find anything on him before the age of twenty-three, though—no college history, nothing. It’s as though he came out of nowhere.”
Thank God for small mercies. At least Towers had made no connection between Rondell and Chicago. And that meant he would know nothing about Michael’s links with Rondell. “Jeez. He sounds a nasty piece of work. You’ve done well to find all this out, Glen.”
“There’s more.”
Michael sat upright. “Okay. What else do you have?”
Towers sighed. “I took a look at whatever press coverage there was on Grannis and dug around on the web a little.” He fidgeted on his chair. “It’s no more than rumor, so health warning on this next bit.”
Michael’s mouth felt dry. What was he about to hear?
Towers looked as though he was struggling to find the right words again. “There is,” he said, before stopping and cupping his hands together, “some speculation of a mob connection with Grannis.”
Michael didn’t know what to say. He needed to bring this to a halt as soon as he could without appearing to ignore what Towers had uncovered. “I think I’ve heard enough.”
“It would certainly explain the lack of information on their investors.”
“Did you find the names of any?”
“No, nothing. Their fund appears to be all their own money rather than from the usual investor types. Could it be they’re bankrolled by—?”
Michael made a chopping motion across his neck. “I don’t need to hear any more. It’s clear we can’t take these guys on as a client. That’s all we need to know. You’ve done a great job. This is precisely why we need to investigate potential new clients, so we can avoid any embarrassment for the firm.”
Towers appeared disappointed to be halted in mid-flow. “Is there anything else you need me to do on them? I’ve got quite a lot of data on—”
“No. Just leave the papers with me. Let’s not waste any more time on Grannis. They’re history. I want you to focus on the Spar deal now. We have to get that one over the line.”
After Towers left, Michael swiveled his chair away from his desk and toward his window. The rumors that Rondell had mob connections made absolute sense. Where else could his money have come from? No legitimate investor in his right mind would deal with a crook like him. Besides Michael, who else was Rondell leaning on, or paying off, for inside information on public company deals? That had to be where his hedge fund’s strong returns were coming from: illegal trades based on confidential information. The man wouldn’t know a good investment if it was staring him in the face.
In only three days, Michael was expected to start handing over details of one of his deals—the Spar transaction. It was a sickening thought. And now he’d discovered Rondell was backed by organized criminals, there was no way this would stop at Cedar Street. Rondell was bound to pass details of the Spar deal to his backers. And what would stop them trading in the stock? That would massively increase the risk of being caught. A wall of money traded ahead of a public announcement was bound to attract the attention of the authorities. And once they started asking questions, they’d look to the advisers involved in the deal. It wouldn’t be too long before they came searching for the source of the leak at Dudek’s.
Michael closed his eyes. What had previously been a dangerous, but manageable, risk now appeared an almost certain road to incarceration. In light of what he’d just learned, there was no way he could go through with it. Meeting Rondell
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