Pizza chain Sbarro files for bankruptcy protection [Reuters]
Sbarro LLC, the pizza restaurant chain, on Monday filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time in less than three years, after struggling with too much debt and lower customer traffic in the malls that house many of its restaurants. Sbarro and more than 30 affiliates filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.
For I.R.S. Chief, a Challenge Too Big to Pass Up [NYT]
In today’s bitterly polarized environment, the Internal Revenue Service has become even more of a whipping boy for United States politicians as it struggles with deep budget cuts and accusations of incompetence and, some say, illegal actions. It’s the ideal situation for John Koskinen. A year ago, the top White House aides Jeff Zients and Gene Sperling talked to Mr. Koskinen about a job in the Obama administration. He demurred, though he told them to call if they had something disastrous that no one else wanted to manage. They did; he says it took him “about 15 seconds” to accept the job of I.R.S. commissioner.
In IRS Scandal, Begging Is Not an Action Plan [American Thinker]
Yet the conservative response to the IRS scandal consists mainly of begging the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute and begging the IRS to start playing nice by releasing information implicating its own staff in wrongdoing and perhaps criminal violations. Like that’s gonna happen. Begging is not a plan of action. As a lawyer, the author must point out that lawyers leading conservative organizations are failing to implement the proven techniques already developed by Judicial Watch when Bill Clinton was president. The “whine and cheese party” is not the right way to achieve the results that justice demands. And all Americans are at risk from how this is being handled.
PwC buys Biond Consulting [Advisor.ca]
Meanwhile, in Canada…
Hackers Hit Mt. Gox Exchange's CEO, Claim To Publish Evidence Of Fraud [Forbes]
The Bitcoin community has been angrily pressing for details on what the Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox has described as a massive hacker attack that stole hundreds of millions of dollars worth of its users’ bitcoins and left the company bankrupt. Mt. Gox’s staff isn’t talking. So another group of hackers say they’ve broken into the company’s servers to provide answers of their own.
KPMG global chairman speaks about insider trading fiasco [Attestation Update]
By the way, here’s another minor consequence for Mr. London – watch how Adrienne Gonzalez has redefined his name. "If you recall, an anonymous KPMG insider wrote a piece for us last year just after the Scott hit the fan and talked about how that very response from the firm felt like just what he wanted from the firm."
“Wisconsin is the model”: Grover Norquist’s Tea Party scheme to crush his union enemies [Salon]
The world's greatest troll seems to have had a good time at CPAC
Emails Aren't Only Challenge in Dewey Defense, Experts Say [New York Law Journal]
A day after Dewey & LeBoeuf's former leaders were indicted on grand larceny and fraud charges, criminal defense experts weighed in on the challenges and strategies in defending such cases, especially when damning emails are presented as key evidence. "I've defended cases with bad emails, and it's tough because it's physical," said Charles Stillman, managing partner of Ballard Spahr's Manhattan office. "You can cross-examine the witness. You can't cross examine an email."
Florida Walmart Sells Family Steak Laced With LSD [Gawker]
Something tells me these people are trippin