Ann Woolner

April 07, 2009 | Daily Report Online

By Ann Woolner

5 minute read

February 06, 2009 | Daily Report Online

The form contained 63 questions for those seeking high posts in the Obama administration. The questionnaire asked for writings, speeches, financial statements, tax returns, e-mail, brokerage statements, mortgage papers-some documents going back 10 years or more. It asked for "the most controversial matters you have been involved with" and any "possible source of embarrassment.

By Ann Woolner

4 minute read

November 02, 2009 | Daily Report Online

A surprising number of otherwise smart people find themselves remarking on the phone that they hope the line isn't tapped."Here's how scared I am about what I'm gonna tell you," Danielle Chiesi, a portfolio manager at hedge fund adviser New Castle Funds LLC, told a confidante last year. "I swear to you in front of God, you put me in jail if you talk.

By Ann Woolner

5 minute read

August 19, 2008 | Daily Report Online

Shielding your eyes against the glare of a Trump tower or marveling at its creator's shameless self-promotion on his NBC show, you get the impression that Donald Trump likes to see his name bandied about. He plasters it on hotel skyscrapers and rolling green golf courses. ''One Name Says It All,'' boasts the online slogan for the immodestly dubbed Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, N.

By Ann Woolner

5 minute read

February 21, 2011 | Daily Report Online

Bernard Madoff didn't arrive on the front page of The New York Times this week with a reputation for shining the bright light of truth into the shadows that shroud wrongdoing. He lives in a federal prison because he lied for years to trusting friends, charities, educational and religious institutions, thousands of investors and at least some family members.

By Ann Woolner

5 minute read

August 13, 2009 | Daily Report Online

Richard H. Smith, once charged in the biggest tax fraud ever, owes his lawyers a debt of gratitude for getting him out of what could have been life in prison. He also owes them $1.3 million, they claim, alleging one of the more outrageous man-stiffs-lawyers stories. In Smith's case, it isn't as if he didn't have the money.

By Ann Woolner

5 minute read

August 08, 2005 | Daily Report Online

by Ann WoolnerIf I were an industry, I would hire lobbyists and hand out lots and lots of campaign money to politicians. Then I would persuade them to pass a law to keep people from suing me. If I were really good at this, the law would force judges to toss out suits already filed against me, no matter how worthy, no matter which court.

By Ann Woolner

6 minute read

November 08, 2010 | Daily Report Online

Halliburton Co. probably meant no irony when it named its annual report last year, "Pushing Boundaries." The company may be wishing it had more carefully observed certain boundaries as new evidence emerges of its role in the biggest oil spill in U.S. history. Take, for example, the line between legal conduct and crime.

By Ann Woolner

6 minute read

February 10, 2011 | Daily Report Online

By Ann Woolner

5 minute read

June 22, 2009 | Daily Report Online

Operating in suburban Los Angeles, neurosurgeon Israel Chambi has lost at least two medical malpractice claims totaling $528,552. That's not all he's lost. The Western Medical Center of Santa Ana, where he had worked as chief of neurosurgery, ended his privileges in 2007 "for a medical disciplinary cause," the state licensing board reports without revealing details.

By Ann Woolner

4 minute read