Westporter Says He Could Have Saved $$$ on AIG Bailout

Joseph J. Cassano, the Westporter who was chief executive of the American International Group unit that insured mortgage-related securities with calamitous results, testified in Washington today that he could have saved taxpayers billions of dollars if he had stayed at the company to negotiate with banks that were demanding more collateral as the insurer hit trouble. Cassano, who learned last month that federal prosecutors would not bring charges against him (See WestportNow May 23, 2010), spoke in public for the first time about his role at AIG before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which is studying the causes of the financial crisis. Cassano left AIG in February 2008 over disagreements with the company’s auditors about how to value portions of his unit’s investments. He earned nearly $300 million from the firm. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow photo from CNBC.