''Schechter goes right for the jugular in this rich and informative analysis of the financial crisis and its roots. Not errors, accident, market uncertainties, and so on, but crime: major and serious crime. A harsh judgment, but it's not easy to dismiss the case that he constructs.''--Noam ChomskyVeteran journalist Danny Schechter investigates a complex web of fraud and crime that he shows played a major--if largely unreported--role in bringing the economy down. His four-year investigation focuses on three interconnected cesspools of corruption: what the FBI calls an ''epidemic of mortgage fraud,'' predatory and deceptive securitization by Wall Street, and insurance scams.