ABSTRACT
Time was running out for Samuel Insull. Sitting in a jail in Istanbul, Turkey in April 1934, he pondered the string of events that had brought him to these crossroads. He was in exile from the United States, a place where he had made his fame and fortune as the so-called "Emperor of the Utilities". Sitting in his cell, awaiting extradition to New York, the emperor was clearly deposed. The emperor of utilities, however, had permanently earned the enmity of New York's powerful bankers, who were an unforgiving lot and willing to wait for their revenge. In establishing Middle Western Utilities, Insull demonstrated an amazing ability to sell shares to the public, while still maintaining control of the company. When Eaton decided to buy working control of a number of Insull's utilities, Insull was immediately suspicious. Ferdinand Pecora was a Democrat and had worked as an assistant district attorney, prosecuting shoddy stock salesmen and businessmen.
