Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein Pulls Out The Claws Against Author

To say Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein isn’t happy with a former employee Greg Smith would be an understatement.  Greg Smith as you may recall penned an NY Times Op-Ed piece in March. Smith called the firm’s leadership morally bankrupt. Now Smith has raised the ante by writing a tell-all book entitled, “Why I left Goldman Sachs”

It appears the book which is being released on Monday. Insiders say it contains some juicy stuff. They also say it sounds like it came from the scripts of such 1980s TV shows, Dallas and Dynasty. Goldman Sachs is concerned about the damage the book could cause.

Blankfein himself is leading the damage control team and launching a pre-emptive strike against Smith. Goldman Sachs is releasing the contents of their investigation into the claims Smith made in March. They have also released Smith’s personnel file including performance reviews.

Goldman Sachs claims they found nothing to support allegations that the firm’s culture was toxic. The probe turned up one e-mail reference to “muppets.”

However, the company determined that it was an attempt to explain a complicated trade not to demean the client.

The NY Post also obtained a copy of the report. It states that Smith allegedly complained that he deserved $1 million in compensation for his work the prior year. Smith received $700,000 in pay including a $500,000 bonus.

The NY Post also states Goldman did receive a copy of the book on Wednesday. After reviewing the book, executives at Goldman Sachs who were expected to ignore it instead chose to discuss it along with the contents of their investigation.