LETTERS / SECURITIES

Regarding Michael Hiltzik’s business column, “Why is Minkow aiming so low?” Jan. 19:

Barry Minkow either fell in love with the spotlight his first time around or feels so guilty and embarrassed he now has to keep trying to get into the spotlight to keep reminding people how he has “reformed.”

Redemption is a cloak best worn in silence with much humility rather than by constantly calling attention to yourself, especially if your ethics are questionable. Shorting a company’s stock and then talking the stock down certainly qualifies as an unethical practice, and it is only exacerbated by representing the interests of a party with claims against that company.

Saying he used that money to help further his efforts to bring down the bad guys is no different than going outside the law to do so. Police are legally barred from such practices, and the same should apply to self-appointed vigilantes.

Perhaps, as a Christian preacher, Mr. Minkow should remember the Bible’s admonition about false prophets.

Michael Solomon

Canoga Park