Feds dropping case against Countrywide's Mozilo

I'm not entirely sure anything Mozilo did rose to the level of a crime. Then again, I'm not entirely sure it didn't. Most probably, the civil prosecution was the best way to go, and that they nailed him on (regardless of who paid the penalty.) My biggest complaint is that the civil penaltes are not punitive enough. They should have the capability (but not the requirement) to put some of these companies out of businesses and individuals into bankruptcy. But they don't, so the bad guys pay a piddling fine and go off and bask on their terraces while peasants, er household staff, pour them another drink. And yes, $64mil is a piddling fine when you're playing at this level.