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Webster article w/ GRF quote
From: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Tue, 05 Nov 2002 14:25:10 -0500
------ Forwarded Message From: "Gerry Faulhaber" <gerry-faulhaber () mchsi com> Date: Tue, 5 Nov 2002 11:01:00 -0500 To: <farber () cis upenn edu> Subject: NYT Webster article w/ GRF quote ... have fun with it, including IP if appropriate. My contribution to the William Webster debate concerns his being a board member of NextWave, and my opinion about how that association raises questions about his suitability as the accounting watchdog. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/05/business/05WEBS.html November 5, 2002 Webster's Public Service Image Not Duplicated in Private By ALEX BERENSON s a public servant, William H. Webster has an impeccable résumé. Mr. Webster, who last week became the head of a new government board that will oversee the accounting industry, is the only person to have served as the director of both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency. He has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and a special medal from the American Bar Association for outstanding leadership. But outside Washington, Mr. Webster's record is less than perfect. Since he retired from the C.I.A. 11 years ago to build a lucrative second career as a corporate lawyer, Mr. Webster has repeatedly taken positions that critics say have been at odds with his reputation. <snip> Mr. Webster's position on the board of NextWave Telecom has also raised concern. Congressional investigators have said they will examine Mr. Webster's role at NextWave in addition to his work at U.S. Technologies. NextWave is a bankrupt wireless company whose main asset is a set of airwave licenses that the company won in an auction from the government in 1996 but never paid for. Since 2000, the Federal Communications Commission has been trying to recover the licenses from NextWave and sell them to other companies. NextWave has sued the government to keep the licenses. "NextWave came in, and they got more licenses than anyone else," said Mr. Faulhaber, the Wharton professor. "And then at their earliest opportunity, they defaulted." Mr. Webster knew or should have known that NextWave's actions were not in the consumers' or the government's best interest, Mr. Faulhaber said. He said Mr. Webster should not serve on the accounting board, which demands someone whose reputation is above reproach. "He may be a perfectly fine fellow," Mr. Faulhaber said. "But this is a Caesar's wife situation." ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as interesting-people () lists elistx com To unsubscribe or update your address, click http://v2.listbox.com/member/?member_id=125275&user_secret=1aa8f2d6 Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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- Webster article w/ GRF quote Dave Farber (Nov 05)