dd's Podcast: Recent Episodes

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Ever wonder why Wachovia Bank got involved with drug lords? Why mighty Wachovia took a fall from grace. In 1969, I was sworn as a federal bank examiner under the US Treasury Dept. and examined national banks until my retirement. Many examiners were hired on after the 30's depression due to so many bank failures. Back then, the public confidence in banks eroded and caused many runs on cash deposits which the banks could not divvy up.
Around 2000, bankers and regulators were wrongly influenced to allow plea deals to keep the associated press from reporting criminal bank activity. And, as liquidity became harder to achieve, Wachovia got caught up in a money laundering trap. Wachovia bank officers were unlawfully accepting cash deposits from the drug trade. At the same time, examiners were asleep at the wheel. Many dazzled by bankers B.S. Examiners were relegated to a back room and not allowed to talk in person with bank personnel. The only way examiners found out problems was to trust the banks own audit dept. Face it, some bank auditors were paid to keep their mouths shut. Any examiner knows that. Then around 2006, federal bank regulators found out the hard news about Wachovia. Federal prosecutors had evidence to suggest the proceeds from drugs sales were being illegally deposited into national banks, and fingered Wachovia as the biggest violator. Wachovia officers in the Miami office failed to report such deposits to regulatory agencies, and, kept doing business as usual. What happened next was such a surprise. Wells Fargo acquired Wachovia. During a 22 month investigation, the authorities uncovered billions of dollars in wire transfers and traveler's checks through Mexican exchanges into Wachovia Miami accounts. The conclusion to the case was only the tip of the iceberg, demonstrating the role of our legal banking sector in swilling hundreds of billions of dollars. "Wachovia's blatant disregard for our banking laws gave international cocaine cartels a virtual carte blanche to finance their operations," said Jeffrey Sloman, the federal prosecutor. Only after a London newspaper broke the story of the Wachovia - Mexican case, the Charlotte Observer obtained documents from regulators. It emerged that the alarm that was ignored came from, among other places, London, as a result of the diligence of one of the most important whistleblowers of our time. A man who, in a series of interviews with the Observer laid bare the story of how Wachovia was at the center of one of the world's biggest money-laundering operations. Martin Woods, a Liverpudlian in his mid-40s, joined the London office of Wachovia Bank in February 2005 as a senior anti-money laundering officer. Woods investigated the bank's wire transfer department and reported numerous currency violations to investigators. Criminal charges were then brought against Wachovia, though not against any individual. But the case never came to court, and no one went to jail. In March 2010, Wachovia settled for $110 million, the biggest action ever brought under the US banking statutes. Sound familiar? Will it happen again? Probably, if whistleblowers are not supported, and unless federal prosecutors and judges are not influenced. But, money talks! And, the way this country is going, good luck! little dennyboy

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LITTLE DENNYBOY
EARLY MUSIC LESSONS AS A KID Early in life, I was about 3-4 years old, my Mother would sing Jesus Loves Me while she cooked supper. I was sitting over at the table with my comic book, she'd look over her shoulder to see if I was payin' attention as she sang. I was, and years and years later, when she was 89, I pulled up my twin sax ladies and played her that song @ ONeils Pub during a celebration. She and I both became emotional, because she realized at that moment, that her singing that song to me as a child had taken hold of me.
My Mother also wanted me to learn how to play piano. So as a kid I suffered thru that experience with very little passion since all my buddies were outside playing baseball after school. But as it turned out, those piano lessons taught me patience, helping me later as a performer on sax, trumpet, piano and drums. Also helped when I built a home recording studio that I later penned local tunes about Mint Hill folk.
"Pennys Place" liked by locals. "Queen City blues" went to #2 on Roadhouse Chart. "Bain Academy Boogie" & "Mint Hill Rocks" during Bain Daze back in 2013 and "I love Mint Hillians(always have and always will)", a new duet release.
My band teacher at Bain Jr High School in Mint Hill was Mrs Virginia as we called her. She was so laid back and such an unusual personality as teachers go. She taught many band students to read charts and play on key by requiring us to practice, practice, practice. During the seventh grade I was playing trumpet in her band along with 7 other trumpet players and we had only a few clarinets and 2 drummers, mostly trumpet players. So one day Mrs V ask me if I would consider playing sax since she needed some counter melodies to round out the sound of the band for recitals. I agreed and took her old C melody sax home and started learning what a sax should sound like.
In the tenth grade at East Meck, my family purchased me an Eb Conn alto sax, a 1958 edition. We named her baby toot to go along with big toot, the Bb Buescher Tenor Sax I purchased in the 12th grade with my own money from playing with the Fabulous Plaids here in the QC.
So pulling up those two ladies around my neck became my passion. All the time thanking Nelson Lemmond for planting the seed of me playing twins in harmony. So, when my daughter was in the 7th grade at Bain Elementary here in Mint Hill, she wanted to enter a Bain talent contest on our Church stage.
She said what if you play twin saxes on a song I will write called How'd he do That. Well, that really floored me.
My daughter then put together a jingle for me to play twins as she pulled up her trumpet to lay another harmony line on top of my ladies that really sounded good to us at least. During her performance we would play an instrumental verse, stop dead, she would then say, "how'd he do that, my Dad just played 2 saxes at the same time with me in harmony". Of course it brought the house down and she won the competition. What a great memory for both of us.
My daughter contributed a lot to my music experience. When I formed dd's Blues Band about 2010, after retiring from the Plaids, she travelled with me some to perform sound checks for me since I had lost a lot of my hearing ability from all those years standing beside drummers. I was so thankful for my daughter's passion for music and for helping her Dad when I really needed the help.
So a lesson about music lessons as a kid. How they can add some disciple and for some at least, change your life story. It was all about her ambitions for her son, thanks again Mother. Little dennyboy

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I penned this song in 1990, and it was placed on hold(in the can) until 2016. Van Coble of the Tempest and I rearranged it, placed it with John Hook, and it reached #2 on Hook's Boogie and Blues Chart, June, 2016. Radio stations in O.D picked it up as a request from their listeners, then it became popular with shag DJ's around the Carolinas.

In his Hideaway Studio in Midland Van Coble(Tempest) recorded the rhythm tracks, Michael Wayne Deese, "the human vocal cord", and former lead singer with the Fabulous Plaids of Charlotte, back in the day, sang his but off on it. Then Van gave it to me to record in my home studio, my twin ladies, big toot and baby toot. I included a piano lead, using old Sidney Smith(Catalinas) cord patterns, and a organ part to the Mp3 and sent it to John Hook to play on his beach broadcast.
Hook really liked the video I accompanied with the MP3, since he was a band history nut. On the video feed, I had shots of various local bands from around the Queen City back in the early 60's, and the video seemed to get as much attention from beach and shag lovers as the MP3 recording. Anyway, it got played and Van, Wayne and I were surprised it gained some favor since it was a local effort.
The late and great Nelson Lemmond canned the original tape of QCb for his West Trade Street Blues Association album at Reflections Studio, made in 1991.
Nat Speir of the Riveras thought it was good enough, but Nelson was the money man and made the final cut decision.
So, you never know what the public may like on the Radio, sometimes you think you got a whopper, it flops, then out of the blue, you are surprised you got a hit record on the radio. But thinking back, the process that effort went through was so exciting and fond memories too.
little denny boy