American Casino’s foreclosure expert Sean O’Toole explains the cruel game that banks are playing with mortgage victims.  Read his chilling insights here

The story we broke in American Casino — what Wells did to Baltimore.  Now lawsuit against Wells Fargo for subprime minority targeting in Memphis reveals how they killed Soulsville.

Read it here

Baltimre City’s lawsuit against the Wells Fargo Bank for discriminatory “reverse redlining” of African American subprime borrowers has been refiled with the court.  In January 2010 Judge Frederick Motz of the U.S. District Court dismissed the suit without prejudice on the grounds that it was too broad.  Baltimore’s legal team refiled an amended complaint, seeking damages for city costs directly attributable to Wells foreclosures, on April 7.  The case goes forward.  The full complaint can be seen here.

Court affirms ruling that Fed must respond to  FOIA suit launched by Bloomberg’s late great Mark Pittman demanding it come clean about toxic collatoral it accepted from banks.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601010&sid=aB3yIaXayz4g

Congressman Elijah Cummings, whose district covers inner-city Baltimore, has asked the justice department’s Civil Rights division to investigate the giant bank’s lending ptractices.  Read the full details here

The Judge in charge of Baltimore’s suit against the Wells Fargo Bank has rejected the suit on the grounds that Wells could  not have been responsible for the entire devastation of inner-city neighborhoods.  Read about the decision here.

Leslie and Andrew Cockburn were interviewed on Brian Lamb’s terrific Sunday night show “Q&A” on Sunday, January 3, at 8 pm.  In the hour long discussion they talked about the background to the film, how and why they made it and many other fascinating details.  To watch the show or read the transcript, click here

The Women Film Critics Circle is honored to award AMERICAN CASINO as Best Documentary 2009: Above And Beyond.

The Women Film Critics Circle is an association of 47 women film critics from around the country and internationally, who are involved in print, radio, online and television media.

We came together in 2004 to form the first women critics organization in the United States, in the belief that women’s perspectives and voices in film criticism need to be recognized fully, while offering a fresh and differently experienced perspective.

Just Make Sure the Rules are Fair.

Mark Pittman, a great reporter and a good friend who played a leading role in American Casino, has died suddenly at the age of 52. He was a wonderful guy in every way, combining a deeply serious understanding of the financial system with a never-absent sense of humor and amazement at the ways that same system is being run off the rails. We shall miss him very much.  Read the Bloomberg obituary here by his close friend and colleague Bob Ivry.