Legal Lunacy of the Week Award

Among the worst of the squaliformes, Cross Country Bank and it's Applied Card Systems collection arm are being nipped at by a number of states Attorneys General.

Having fingers wagged at it is more like it. Over and over again.

In Pennsylvania, AG Jerry Pappert sued the companies in June and settled this week for a paltry $450-thousand plus having to set up a refund program for some of the victims.

Any wonder why this crap keeps going on?

Aside from the ridiculously small charge, the Legal Lunacy of the Week Award goes to Pappert for letting the squaliforme get off without admitting they did anything wrong!

If the Judge in the Court overseeing this case approves this idiotic settlement, he'll be the recipient of another LLOTWA as well.

Rocco Abessinio, the head of Cross Country, is the one who tried to get West Virginia's AG voted out of office because they're going after him for at least $2-million for that state's victims. And he threatened to close an office and let 550 people go because of it, but of course, now it turns out they had planned to close it well before the AG went after them.

The FTC settlement in August let them off with nothing more than an agreement to not abuse customers any more. And again, they didn't have to admit they were doing anything wrong!

"The things we agreed to stop doing are things that we don't do anyway," he is quoted as saying.

This Judge wonders what pictures of these officials Abessinio has stashed away in his safe.

If Rocco Abessinio was brought before this court, there wouldn't be a settlement. There'd be a very short, very public trial in which Abessinio admits deliberate wrongdoing among other things. Followed shortly thereafter by a hanging party.

Until that time, Abessinio merely becomes Squaliforme Hall of Shame Dishonoree inductee one.

Induction effective immediately.

The Honorable Judge Roy Bean.