Greenspan's Body Count: Dennis and Merna Koula

Greenspan goes to Wisconsin:

Eric Koula’s 20-day trial for the 2010 shooting deaths of his parents begins today, when prosecutors will try to prove through a circumstantial case that he was motivated to kill.

The investigation is the largest in La Crosse County’s history with more than 15 local and state investigators dedicating hundreds of hours.

Much of the state’s case will focus on what prosecutors believe was the motive: The nearly broke West Salem day trader and heir to his wealthy parents’ estate killed them for the inheritance.

[...]

Koula called his parents’ home twice the day after they were killed to thank them for an anniversary present.

That same day, he deposited a forged $50,000 check drawn from his father’s investment account, reports stated.

Koula said his father gave him a blank check on May 20 when he stopped by his parents’ house for 10 minutes.

A financial expert determined Eric Koula was in debt and behind on his mortgage at the time, according to the complaint.

Greenspan's Body Count stands at 217.

Greenspan's Body Count: Florence and Susan Beran

Greenspan goes to Connecticut:

Two weeks ago, police discovered the bodies of Florence, 85, and Susan Beran, 57, on Friday, May 11 in the home. Investigators concluded that Susan Beran, a longtime caregiver for her elderly mother, killed Florence with her late father's shotgun and then used the weapon to take her own life some time later. Neighbors hadn't reported any gunfire that week. Police suspect the murder-suicide occurred sometime in the 48 hours before police discovered the gruesome scene, less than a month after the house was auctioned off as part of a tax foreclosure.

Florence Beran owed the city $52,364 in back taxes as of this past March. She also owed $6,136 to CL&P [Connecticut Light & Power], which won a legal judgment against her in January, and $12,358 to a debt collection agency called Midland Funding. A CL&P spokesman did not return calls for comment Friday.

Susan Beran, a former nurse, couldn't afford to hire full-time medical care for her mother, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease. She also couldn't leave her alone long enough to find her own job, according to Deborah Gebhard, a friend of Susan's who lives in Michigan.

Greenspan's Body Count stands at 215.

Greenspan Limerick Contest

Murphy's Law, 2012 edition: If Alan Greenspan can kill someone, he will.

Limerick, Ireland:

LIMERICK people are penning suicidal letters at a rate of three a week after being driven to despair by debt, it has been revealed. And a Limerick advocate who provides free advice for people with financial problems is pleading with people to seek advice rather than take drastic action. One lone parent who wrote to the Life After Debt organisation, said she has already tried to commit suicide because she has no way of paying her mortgage, making ends meet and sometimes cannot even put food on the table for herself and her child.

“We have no heat in the house, no food in the fridge and I cannot buy new shoes for my little girl. My electricity is about to be cut off again. “The money I get as a lone parent only lasts a couple of days as I’m always trying to pay bills that are in arrears and I never make any headway. I can’t cope anymore,” one Limerick city woman wrote in a letter to  Seamus Sherlock, founder of the Life after Debt organisation in the city.

I got your limerick right here.

There once was a Maestro celebrated
His ego became quite inflated
He could see no bubble
Nor sign of bank trouble
His Body Count climbs unabated!

Please submit your limericks in the comments.

Greenspan's Body Count: Norman Rousseau

Norman Rousseau and his wife Oriane bought their house at 580 Wilshire Place, Newbury Park in 2000 for $225,000 with 30% down.

According to a lawsuit filed by the Rousseaus, in 2002, 2006, and 2007, during Greenspan's bubble, they were solicited by World Savings / Wachovia, now a unit of Wells Fargo, to refinance into dangerous Pay Option ARMs. The final 2007 loan was an egregious negative-amortization, 7.2% interest, $368,000 weapon of financial mass destruction.

Read the Rousseaus' lawsuit against Wells Fargo here.

On Sunday, as foreclosure loomed just two days away, Norman Rousseau went into his garage and shot himself to death.

Greenspan's Body Count stands at 213.

Greenspan's Body Count: Woodrow Wilson Hall Jr. and Barbara Ann Hall

Greenspan's Body Count today returns to the great bubble state of Florida.

Ocala:

Barbara Ann Hall, 66, was shot four times in the head with a .38 revolver by her 68-year-old husband Woodrow Wilson Hall Jr., who placed a .44 Magnum in his mouth and pulled the trigger, according to a report released Wednesday.

[...]

The couple's daughter told the detective her parents argued over finances and said her mother wanted to move closer to her in Jacksonville because she was having a child, but her father did not want to move.

The daughter and son-in-law told Diaz the couple were behind in their mortgage payments by $5,000 and that Barbara Hall had suggested that her husband sell his Corvette, which was "a hot button topic" since he loved the car.

The Halls appear to have bought the property in 1998 for $95,000.  If they'd put 20% down and got a then-prevailing 7% rate on a 30-year mortgage, they'd pay $506 a month and would now owe less than $60,000 on a house worth more than $100,000.

But it must have been pretty tempting to suck out some "home equity" when Greenspan's bubble floated that house value over $200,000.  Daddy needs a new Corvette!

I think Bernanke may get an assist on this one. Hall was a retired superintendent from Michigan schools, so he presumably had at least a modest pension in addition to his odd jobs. But Bernanke's food, gas, and utility inflation has been brutal on retired folk -- to say nothing of 0% interest on their savings.

Greenspan's Body Count stands at 209.

Greenspan's Body Count: Aziz "Bob" Yazdanpanah, NaFatemah Rahmati, Nona Yazdanpanah, Ali Yazdanpanah, Mohamad Hossein Zarei, Zohreh Rahmaty, and Sara Fatemeh Zarei

Alan Greenspan gets really twisted around the holidays.

His latest massacre involved a man dressing up as Santa to kill his family among their just-opened presents on Christmas Day.

The Dallas Morning News reported the family was having financial troubles and that the mother moved into the Grapevine apartment after separating from her husband, who is still living in the family's Colleyville home just a couple of miles away.

Last year, the bank foreclosed on the home, which was tied go the father's filing for bankruptcy according to federal records, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Neighbors told News 8 that the father had been living at the house and was seen just last week cleaning up leaves in the yard. They said the family lived there for at least 12 years.

Neighbors also told News 8 they believe the father works in real estate.

Aziz Yazdanpanah is listed at 5406 Sycamore Court in Colleyville, TX, which was purchased pre-bubble in 1999, so he almost certainly took out a big home equity loan to get in trouble.

Greenspan's Body Count stands at 207.

Greenspan's Body Count: Andre L. Turner, Henry Serrano, Robert Scott Lindsay

Another workplace shooting, and -- surprise! -- the killer was deeply underwater on his house.

UPI:

An employee who killed two people at a Southern California Edison office before taking his own life targeted his victims, a witness said.

The shooter was identified Saturday as Andre Turner, 48, of Norco, the Los Angeles Times reported. He shot four co-workers at the company's information and technology office in Irwin Friday afternoon, including two who were critically injured.

Let's go to the real estate records. Turner was listed at 1495 Andalusian Drive in Norco in California's Inland Empire, ranke the #2 worst place in America.

Turner bought the McMansion in 2004 for $711,000, reportedly put a lot more money into it, and was trying to short-sell it for $590,000.

Workplace disputes rarely end in violence. The psychological impact of severe financial distress caused by Greenspan's bubbles cannot be underestimated. It is what pushes a few, like Andre Turner, over the edge.

Greenspan's Body Count stands at 200.