Ferdinand Pecora Appointed Chief Counsel to Senate Banking Investigation

Republican Senator Peter Norbeck appointed Ferdinand Pecora, a former New York deputy district attorney, as the fourth chief counsel to the Senate Banking and Currency Committee’s investigation into the Wall Street crash. Pecora, son of Italian immigrants who grew up in Hell’s Kitchen, replaced three failed predecessors and was initially hired merely to write the final report of what was considered a failing inquiry. Democratic chairman Duncan Fletcher retained Pecora after the 1932 election swept Franklin Roosevelt into the presidency and gave Democrats control of the Senate. What began as an administrative appointment transformed into a prosecutorial tour de force. Pecora brought his criminal investigation experience to bear on Wall Street’s most powerful figures, personally examining witnesses with meticulous preparation and devastating effectiveness. His aggressive approach, armed with broad subpoena power and access to bankers’ personal records, would expose systematic fraud, tax evasion, insider trading, and market manipulation that had precipitated the Great Depression. The investigation would become popularly known as the “Pecora Commission” in recognition of his central role, and his findings would galvanize public support for the most sweeping financial reforms in American history.