Houston Post

Beginning in 1990, an assortment of articles from the Houston Post found their way into NameBase. In them Pete Brewton described organized crime and CIA connections surrounding the major players in the savings and loan failures, primarily in Texas but also in Florida and California. Brewton met with resistance, first from the Post's lawyers and then, when he expanded the series into a manuscript, from Simon & Schuster. Brewton quit the Post, enrolled in law school, and took his manuscript elsewhere.

The Post series and book are loaded with names of Texas-size wheeler- dealers, but it's circumstantial. There's a little bit on Lloyd Bentsen and sons, a bit more on George Bush and sons, even more on slick operators who appear to be CIA assets, and more still on Mafia-connected deals that involve property flipping as a cover for fraudulent loan schemes using federally-insured funds (your tax dollars). The names come from the records of state and federal agencies and courts, as well as newspaper clippings. The book's title is misleading, as the book itself leaves the impression that this is all business-as-usual for greedy Texans. But unless NAFTA returns the territory to Mexico, where certain Banana Republic of Texas businesses might have more room to deal, it's worthwhile trying to track these fun folks. In that sense, Brewton's contribution is significant.

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