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destroyed other records in order to bury the audit trail. The NASD and the market makers continued to blame SOES traders for all of Nasdaq's ills and plotted their downfall.
The Nasdaq economic river was polluted. No one would have predicted that, by 1997, some of the entrenched NASD regulators and top officials would have lost their power and had to leave their jobs in disgrace. Incidentally, officials of such awesome power defy the laws of gravity. Even in disgrace, they never fall down; they fall up and will receive new jobs based upon the contacts they have made.
The Fight For Positive Change Begins
Perhaps the greatest reward in the world is the sense of accomplishment that occurs when you have achieved your most vivid goal. My dream was to leave a footprint in the history of the markets. Stemming from the early days of my graduate studies, my greatest personal thrill was obtaining insight into the mysterious manner in which the stock market operated, particularly with respect to changes in the market mechanisms. My master's degree thesis was about the impact of Nasdaq on the OTC securities market. As the president of a broker-dealer that had a market-making operation, I had significant exposure to the manner in which the market makers operated and I became aware of the techniques they used when dealing with the public. When I discovered the NASD was allowing its market-maker membership to cheat the public, I became outraged and determined to change the system. It was as if everything I had learned in the past had trained me for this role. I was uniquely positioned to confront the system.
Everyone has a desire to create a worthwhile monument dedicated to change for the best. You want to be able to show your personal creation to your family and proudly say that you have built it for the greater good of other people. This is the self-esteem that warms my heart when I realize that I have

 
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