It is testimony to the ubiquity of crime in the modern American economy that the criminal investigation of one of the countrys largest corporations and lending institutions has been greeted with the equivalent of a bored yawn.

David Glenn, the president and Chief Operating Officer of the Federal Home Loan Banking Corporation (Freddie Mac) has agreed to cooperate with the OFHEO investigation of Freddie and has been assessed a civil fine of $125,000.

This sounds a lot to us like a plea bargain  he agrees to cooperate in return for protection from the full force of the law.

The investigation is widening as well; as of this writing, both Citigroup and Morgan Stanley have been drawn into the web. Louisiana Representative Richard Baker said, Weve now entered Enron territory, and we should all be gravely concerned.

He is right, we should. The problem is systemic.

The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) now finds its accounting practices under investigation.