Martha Stewart: Victim of the Old Boy Network by Hedge Fund Manager, Joseph Jett

Hedge Fund Manager Joseph Jett on Martha Stewart and the prosecutorial targeting of women and minority executives

(PRWEB) March 10, 2004 -- Tonight, I watch sadly as the pundits celebrate the fall of Martha Stewart. A white male executive beside me in Penn Station cried out, "Good! They got that witch! I hope they bury her under the jail!" I realized yet again the visceral anger that the qualities of leadership evoke if demonstrated by a woman or minority. Martha Stewart is being destroyed not for what she did (saving $17,437 from an alleged stock tip) but for whom she was: a woman who built an empire with the steely will of a leader. It is sad that our country is not yet ready for black and women leaders. It is chillingly apparent that we shall find ourselves targeted by the force of law for the foreseeable future.

Jack Grubman and Henry Blodgett spewed out monstrous lies to the investment community, costing the fortunes of the "little people". Yet they are not in jail. Grubman is still employed by Citibank and is earning close to $1 million annually. Blodgett reached an agreement with Eliot Spitzer not even admitting guilt despite dozens of e-mails that unquestionably proved his culpability in misleading investors. Their lies made them rich beyond their wildest dreams. Their punishment: minor fines. Yet it is deemed just that Martha serve time.

Higher up the ladder we see Jack Welch throw thousands out of work and therefore become lauded as a capitalist hero. He boasts of committing fraud in his autobiography and savages shareholders with undisclosed retirement perks in the millions of dollar. The corporate motto, "Imagination at Work", inspires only the firm's corporate reporting. The SEC and the federal government, well aware of Welch's shenanigans, did just this: Nothing.

Meanwhile Martha Stewart builds a business honestly rather than through an accounting miasma of acquisitions. Her reputation of not suffering fools is similar to that of Welch; however, being a woman, the character traits of leadership bring her universal dislike. Martha did not commit insider trading, devastated no ones portfolio, eviscerated no ones 401K, nor put a single person out of work and allegedly lied about something that was not a crime. But she is jeered by the media pundits and hastened off to prison. This is a double standard that none should respect.

No doubt, Martha should have testified. Martha's life demonstrated strength of will. Her reputation and exhibited courtroom demeanor demanded of her that she defend herself. It is perhaps not what any lawyer would advise, but Martha should have felt compelled to do what was noble. Had Martha taken the stand and said, "Yes, I asked my secretary to change the phone records. I do my best to do what is right and I knew that I had done nothing wrong. But I had no proof that I had done nothing wrong. The media and the world seemed to hate me so very much that I panicked, fearing that no one would believe me. So I changed the records. But when my panic was gone after I talked to members of my family and saw that at least someone loved me, I changed the record back. I was scared and I panicked and I hope that you can understand that and forgive me. I am not perfect. Please don't destroy all the good that I have done for one mistake." I feel that jury would have been swayed. No defense is not a defense.

At end, Martha Stewart sought to be a member of the club, but the fact that she had steel in her backbone caused white males to view her as an uppity witch. To her has been applied that separate set of laws saved for the Reginald Lewises and Joseph Jetts when we arise. We are harried from this country or thrown into jail based on dubious offenses because the white man does not want to meet us on the battlefield.

The canard offered that Martha was guilty of the horrid offense of lying to the Feds or SEC is laughable. Did not Bill Clinton lie outrageously to Congress until a stained dress proved his undoing? Yet he remained president and much beloved.

For me the promise of this country is fading. I sought to compete honorably. Refusing affirmative action handouts, working with the intensity of an immigrant with new found freedom, I honed myself into a weapon capable of overcoming the deeply rooted racism of corporate America. Yet no matter what injustice I face, I will continue to fight.

Those of us whom this country has wronged should wear the scars of our undoing proudly as evidence of the fear we struck in the old boy network. Now we must bring others to storm the walls that we have breached until there is no law and no kangaroo court that the old boy network can hide behind.

Joseph Jett is the author of Broken Bonds

ISBN: 097081013X