U.S. Towns, Cooked Books and the Fight Against Fraud

Cities, states, counties, towns, school districts, and housing authorities across the U.S. all need money.  And they all borrow money from investors in the public markets by issuing bonds. 

But what happens when things go wrong? Ramapo, New York, provides a cautionary tale that involves baseball, cooked books, struggling towns and even live rattlesnakes. The story begins with a town that borrowed money to build a minor league baseball stadium. It ends when one town official pled guilty to criminal charges for defrauding investors.

Find out what happens in between (and some reasons that policing the municipal bond market matters) in this radio commentary.