A financial adviser has inserted himself into the tension between the Occupy Wall Street protesters and The
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. over sponsorship of a fundraising dinner next month for a New York-based credit union that mainly serves the poor.
Frank Congemi, an
LPL Financial LLC registered representative and a longtime, freewheeling critic of Wall Street bankers and Washington regulators, has agreed to pay $5,000 to sponsor a Nov. 3 dinner hosted by the Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union.
Goldman Sachs had agreed to be one of four top sponsors for the dinner but withdrew its pledge this month after invitations to the dinner stated that the honorees included Occupy Wall Street, according to a story in The Wall Street Journal last weekend.
Mr. Congemi, who ran radio ads in New York after the credit crisis that lambasted investment banks and securities regulators, immediately saw an opportunity.
“I am doing it because I believe LPL is not Wall Street. LPL is Main Street,” Mr. Congemi said.
“We do not represent fat cats. I personally think those protesters are patriots,” Mr. Congemi said.
The protesters are “just as inarticulate as my clients,” he said.
The credit crisis “has been the greatest economic crime in history that no one has yet been arrested for. My clients have more in common with Occupy Wall Street than any investment bankers,” Mr. Congemi said.
“I'm helping to promote their goals and values because they are worthy,” he said. “Even if they are having trouble expressing themselves, they can tell you what they feel.”
Mr. Congemi, who is based in Queens, N.Y., and Deerfield Beach, Fla., has about 800 clients and $70 million in client assets under management.
“We decided not to support the 25th anniversary financially but continue to provide funding for Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union's financial education program,” said Stephen Cohen, a spokesman for
Goldman Sachs.
Michael Herley, a spokesman for LPL, didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Other hosts were also displeased with the inclusion of Occupy Wall Street at the event, the Journal reported.
Capital One bank, for example, withdrew its name from the even but agreed to keep its $5,000 pledge.
The publicity around
Goldman Sachs pulling its sponsorship has turned into a small boon for the Lower East Side Federal Credit Union, its chief executive, Linda Levy said Tuesday morning.
“There's been a lot of positive response” since the story first appeared in Saturday's Wall Street Journal, she said.
“We're as surprised as anyone. We are raising more money than we already had,” Ms. Levy said.
“
Goldman Sachs doesn't want to do it, but people like Frank want to step up to the plate,” she said.
Goldman Sachs was one of the lead underwriters for LPL Investment Holdings Inc. when it went public last year.
