Putting on a show for the taxpayers, egos and money make the world go around,
"WASHINGTON -- Late on New Year's Eve, James Lambright, a Treasury Department official, sat waiting impatiently for documents to arrive from Citigroup Inc. He'd just been told by the bank's chief financial officer that Citigroup couldn't reach some executives who needed to sign the paperwork, including one woman whose husband was in the hospital with a heart attack.
"Well then, you know where to find her," Mr. Lambright replied to the finance chief, Gary Crittenden, according to three accounts of the call. "Put someone in one of your fancy black cars and get her to sign the document.""
also,
"A little later, Mr. Lambright was on the phone with Mr. Young of GM, haggling over some details the Treasury was demanding. Mr. Lambright was in no mood to negotiate.
"You're our third-biggest deal of the day," Mr. Lambright told GM's chief financial officer, according to three people familiar with the call. "So if you don't want to do this now, we have plenty else to do. Call us later."
GM agreed to the government's offer, and received its cash before the New Year."
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