The Hellhound of Wall Street, by Michael Perino

Review by :Arghya Roy

During the 1920's, America brushed away the effects of the Great War, and witnessed dynamic cultural change, increased awareness for the Progressive and liberal movements, and sustained economic prosperity. Labor Unions were organized, Prohibition was in full swing, and women were becoming more independent. Technology was becoming more available to the common man. The titans of American Industry lived lavish lifestyles, and the media turned it's attention towards celebrities. Population was on the rise, and the poor were taken care of by the middle-class.

All of that ended with the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Millions of Americans lost their livelihoods and jobs, and were forced to live in slums. Understandably, the American public was more than angry at Wall Street and Herbert Hoover, the President at the time.

President Hoover intended to be re-elected in the 1932 elections, so he assigned Senator Peter Norbeck to lead the United States Senate Committee on Banking and Currency. Senator Norbeck assigned a total of 3 Chief Counsels to lead the Committee's line of questioning, which ended in the first 2 being fired for lack of will, and the third, Samuel Untermyer, a prominent New York lawyer, resigned when he was denied wider subpoena power.

The Committee seemed to be going nowhere, and Senator Norbeck was running out of room to maneuver. His luck changed when a staffer mentioned Ferdinand Pecora's name to him. 

Pecora was Sicilian by birth, and emigrated to the US when he was 4 years old. Growing up on the west side of Manhattan, he had to leave school as a teenager when his father was injured in an accident. Pecora  worked as a clerk at a Wall Street firm, and was able to get the money to get a law degree at night school. Originally a member of Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive-Republican party, he later joined Tammany Hall (at the time, Tammany Hall was going through a more moderate and honest phase, under the leadership of Charles Murphy), and with the Democratic Party's help, he gained a reputation as a talented, and honest prosecutor

.

Even though Pecora was offered a mere $255 a month for working with the Committee, he went to Washington, and took the job. In 10 days, Ferdinand Pecora exposes shocking finance irregularities, tax evasion, forced investing, discounted trade rates, and selling bad loans to unsuspecting investors. Using straight facts, and speaking the language of the common man, Ferdinand Pecora tarnished the sterling reputation of Wall Street and the banks to the American people. Putting the titans of American Capitalism on stand, like Charles Mitchell, and J.P. Morgan Jr, Ferdinand Pecora achieved the retribution that the millions of Americans needed, and led the way for increased government scrutiny into the dealings on Wall Street. 

  

The Hellhound of Wall Street is an insightful book, reminding us that we are not a people who can be rolled over, and even in our darkest hour, the people responsible for our suffering will be brought to justice. Pecora was a champion for the American people, and led to the integration of many Italian-Americans into the American culture. The Hellhound of Wall Street is a classic story of triumph, as a Night-School lawyer takes on the Goliath's of finance, and shatters their facade of integrity.