7.29.2010

Greenspan's Body Count: Eddie and Stacey Bryant

Same story, different day.

The Orange County cities of Rancho Santa Margarita and Trabuco Canyon could have served as the model for Agrestic, the parody of suburban tract home sprawl in the TV series Weeds. And, as in the series, real life in the ticky tacky little boxes ain't no Ozzie and Harriet.

CBS2 News:
Authorities have confirmed that a man shot his wife, then turned the gun on himself in their home in upscale Rancho Santa Margarita.

Eddie Lydell Bryant, 39, shot Stacey Tomekia Bryant, 38, then killed himself, Orange County sheriff's Investigator Dan Salcedo said.

The shooting was reported at 1:42 p.m. Wednesday at their home on Birdhollow Drive. Deputies broke into the house and found the bodies, Salcedo said.

The couple, who were high school sweethearts, was having "relationship issues," he said.

"Relationship issues." He left the toilet seat up all the time, she was a big nag, something like that, right?

Not so fast. Zillow shows their home at 21421 Birdhollow in Trabuco Canyon was purchased for $702,000 in 2004, was worth around $850,000 at the peak and is now worth under $700,000. Is he underwater from a home ATM withdrawal? We may never know, but it's a fair bet he was struggling with the mortgage. You think being underwater, out of work, and with a wife whose income is dependent on the mortgage industry might add a little strain to the relationship?

Bonus: here's the LinkedIn profile of Kenneth (K. Edward) Bachrington, which is an alias used by Eddie Bryant. He claims to be a Marine with a UCLA MBA [MDE, whatever that is]. He claims to have been President and CEO of BH Global, apparently not the BH Global, a London-based investment fund, but some unheard of technology consulting firm called BH Global, quite possibly one guy in his garage. Global indeed.

All a facade to try to keep up in Greenspan's bubble, I presume. But if he was telling the truth about the Anderson MBA [MDE], it's even worse, as he'd have permanent, undischargeable student loan debt haunting him for life. Stacey Bryant appears to have been a legitimate Anderson grad [student], so perhaps they were each carrying high-five-figure or low-six-figure student debt.

Still completely proud of your bubble-blowing record at the Fed, Mr. Greenspan?

Greenspan's Body Count stands at 143.

UPDATE: Video tribute to Stacey Bryant here. And the UCLA "MDE" program is a short evening or weekend course where "entrepreneurs" get a little course material and hang out with MBA students, so the price tag is obviously much cheaper than the full MBA program.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love your sarcasm... being an MBA myself (from top school), formerly in the Real Estate industry and living in O.C I completely agree with you

Anonymous said...

You don't know jack s#!t about these people or life in general. Your rash assessment is far from reality. It may be your perception, but it's not reality.

Anonymous said...

If you look closely at his LinkedIn profile you will see that the degree/certificate from UCLA Anderson is an "MDE" NOT an "MBA" so it would be good for you to check your facts before making assertions.

Anonymous said...

I actually worked with, and knew Ms. Bryant quite well. Your speculation is quite off. She was a remarkable woman, with sound judgement. Maybe you should do your homework before you go sounding off...

Anonymous said...

Communication is the problem to the answer
You’ve got her number and your hand is on the phone
The weather’s turned and all the lines our down
The things we do for love
(the things we do for love)

Like walking in the rain and snow
When there’s nowhere to go
And you’re feeling like a part of you is dying
And you’re looking for the answer in her eyes
You think you’re gonna break up
Then she says she wants to make up

Ooh, you make me love you
Ooh, you’ve got a way
Ooh, you’ve had me crawling up the wall

Anonymous said...

Your flippant attitude about life greatly disturbs me. While it’s possible that the Bryants were struggling financially (like most people right now), reducing this tragedy to a simple economic argument is baseless and crass. I cannot pretend to know the motivations for anyone to resort to such a senseless act, but unfortunate crimes like this have happened in good or bad times, among rich and poor people. While I understand the desire to rationalize something so unthinkable as this, judging the Bryants on a series of poorly-research assumptions like this is tactless. Please consider that these were two people, not statistics, with family and friends who loved them.

Anonymous said...

"Your flippant attitude about life greatly disturbs me"

Something sure as hell was disturbing the Bryants.

My words almost exactly in 2003 to Alan Greenspan:

"Your flippant attitude about monetary policy greatly disturbs me"

But I don't think he'd give a rat's ass.

Life is Fleeting

Jeff

W.C. Varones said...

Anonymous,

We're not diminishing the tragedy of the loss of these two people.

Every case is unique, and there are always additional factors, but financial stress brought on by the bursting of Greenspan's bubble has driven many, many people over the edge.

It's well documented that suicide rates increase during economic hard times, and these times are no exception.

The mission of Greenspan's Body Count is to document the horrors caused by the Federal Reserve's unconscionable mismanagement of the economy so that future generations will never forget.

Anonymous said...

Frankly, I think the writer of this article is and ASS and a Walking Corpse! Your sarcasm in this article makes you equal to Greenspan.

Anonymous said...

"Every case is unique, and there are always additional factors, but financial stress brought on by the bursting of Greenspan's bubble has driven many, many people over the edge."

"Frankly, I think the writer of this article is and ASS and a Walking Corpse! Your sarcasm in this article makes you equal to Greenspan."

hmmmmm..... this is getting some serious (and long overdue) thought.... so I'm gonna throw my Snuggie clad ass full on into the fray...

There are forces in this country that shape the environment in which the majority of the nation’s population must operate and co-exist within. Those forces are generally controlled by a very few powerful people who are entrusted with the overall well being of the nation. It’s cool so long as those powerful people are somewhat moral and have their heads screwed on correctly and are capable of taking a long view. Want to wear the big boy pants and run the big machine? Well, that comes with a fairly large amount of responsibility, so man up. When they don’t have the qualities necessary to “pull the big levers” and “push the big buttons”, things get fucked up and regular people get hurt by themselves or by others close to them - maybe even killed. Greenspan richly deserves the criticisms, mockery, sarcasm and disrespect he gets on Greenspan’s body count. It is probably the only way regular “lower Slobovians” (like me) can fight back but it can be powerful, just like a steady stream of water running over a rock for a long period of time. As far as I can see, the present Fed is carrying on Greenspan’s traditions so I wouldn't count this as the end of postings on GBC. It is speculation at this point to think that the Bryant family’s problems stemmed chiefly from economic troubles but, if it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck…. Follow the news on this subject and the truth will reveal itself in time. WCV might wind up with a little egg on his / her face or maybe not. My guess is “not”.

"Salcedo said some "writings" were found at the scene but he could not discuss their contents.
Officials believe Stacey Bryant had mentioned divorce to her husband sometime before the shooting, but no divorce papers have been filed."

"A healthy marriage is good for a couple’s mental and physical health. In Western cultures like the US, more than 90 percent of people marry by age 50 however about 40 percent to 50 percent of married couples in the US end up in divorce. And one of the leading causes of divorce is financial stress. Actually some even claim that financial stress is the number one cause of divorce and divorce is also the number one reason for people filing bankruptcy. How exactly does financial stress affect a marriage?"

Jeff

Anonymous said...

it's really sad for those to speak and speculate on issues that they kno nothing about....it's more to the tune of a heartless man who feels worthless in contrast to a very well business minded WOMAN!!! if you NEED info on STACEY BRYANT GOOGLE HER _____!!!! singed her FIRST COUSIN (WITH REAL FACTS...check the UCLA ANDERSON WEB SITE WITH STACEY BRYANT IN THE SEARCH BAR...she's no fly by night student

Anonymous said...

You are a complete asshole!!!!! You are obviously sitting in your garage blogging as an excuse for not having a real fucking job. Get a life, fucking loser!

W.C. Varones said...

Gimme a break, "Anonymous."

I didn't call her a fly by night or suggest that she was anything other than a legitimate mortgage company employee.

Eddie/Ken, on the other hand, is a real mess. What's up with the fake name and fake resume? And you're trying to tell me unemployment and financial stress had no part in him going nuts?

You're the asshole, coming on people's blogs and calling them assholes.

Nailed it!

July 5 :