And speaking of cheaters, how about that Brad Marston?

In my last post, I mentioned Charlie Baker’s fascination with a “small businessman” who, according to allegations leveled by the AG’s office and his former partner, scammed not only his employees but his entire company, spending thousands on personal items before filing for bankruptcy.  Seems like MA Republicans have funny ideas about what constitutes a good record in business.

Which brings us to Brad Marston.  Here’s a guy who is very proud of his  business career:

Brad focused on residential and commercial real estate finance, rising to the position of Senior Vice President with Gruntal and Company based in New York City…. With over 25 years of business and management experience, Brad will bring a common sense, “what works” approach to government.

The language is even stronger on the “Platform to Secure America’s Future,” a venture put together by three local candidates in different states, including Marston.

A dynamic business leader with a keen financial background, Brad Marston … brings to the table a stellar financial record, having served in leading roles at First Boston and other long standing and reputable financial institutions, serving as Senior Vice President with Gruntal and Company in Manhattan.

Oooh!  A “stellar” record at “reputable” institutions like Gruntal!  He must be a real business whiz!

Well, it turns out that “stellar” might have been an overstatement.  In reality, in 1993 Marston inflated the value of a trade of a security that he purchased.  Upon being questioned about the true value of the security, Marston arranged a “swap” designed to reflect the inflated value, and then used a straw purchaser to manipulate records and conceal the situation from Gruntal.  Gruntal found out about it, and fired him allowed him to resign.  It also reported the situation to the New York Stock Exchange.  The NYSE censured Marston and barred him from all trading for two months.  You can read the entire decision by the NYSE at this link (PDF).  I wonder if that is all part of Marston’s “common sense, ‘what works’ approach.”

By the way, had you ever heard of Gruntal?  Me neither.  It’s gone now.  Fortune Magazine, in a 2003 article recounting Gruntal’s sad demise, called Gruntal “the shabby side of the Street,” and described the firm’s history as “a sordid tale of greed, mismanagement, and questionable dealings that stretches back to the firm’s early years.”  “Reputable” indeed … yet Marston’s conduct was too much even for a place like Gruntal.

Anyway, apparently Marston’s “resignation” from Gruntal at the end of 1993 was the end of his finance career:

Since leaving the securities industry in 1994, Brad has worked as an actor becoming a member of the stage actor’s union, Actor’s Equity Association and until recently, worked in restaurant management with various national chains.

Well, “leaving the securities industry” is a nice way of saying “being forced to resign,” I suppose.  Since then, apparently Marston was a “manager” at an Uno’s restaurant in 2008.  He was also a “Managing Director” at “Foundation for Citizen Solutions,” which sounds impressive until you check into it and discover that Foundation for Citizen Solutions is an LLC set up by Marston himself, located at his residence, with no record of ever having filed even an annual report (required by state law) – the only filing on record is the Articles of Organization, filed in November 2008.  Guess that one didn’t go anywhere.

Anyway, campaign finance records from 2009 and 2010 show Marston’s employment status variously listed as “unemployed,” “retired,” and “political candidate.”  So there seem to be some holes in Marston’s employment history.  As Marston is a regular participant here, we look forward to his enlightening us.

What is it, again, that qualifies him for the state legislature?

Please share widely!

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