Proving that dead tree journalism still has life, the Seattle Times has a terrific two-parter on the downfall of Washington Mutual.

As with all truly great journalism, it’s the weaving of little details that makes the story:

Someone in Florida had made a second-mortgage loan to O.J. Simpson, and I just about blew my top, because there was this huge judgment against him from his wife’s parents,” she recalled. Simpson had been acquitted of killing his wife Nicole and her friend but was later found liable for their deaths in a civil lawsuit; that judgment took precedence over other debts, such as if Simpson defaulted on his WaMu loan.

When I asked how we could possibly foreclose on it, they said there was a letter in the file from O.J. Simpson saying “the judgment is no good, because I didn’t do it.”

Via Overlawyered.

Last 5 posts by Patrick

• "There Are No Second Acts In American Lives." - February 9th, 2010
• "It Is A Barren Wasteland, Riddled With Fire, Ash, And Dust. The Very Air You Breathe Is A Poisonous Fume." - February 3rd, 2010
• Dear CNN, Reuters, New York Times, Fox, Et. Al. - January 29th, 2010
• State Of The Union - January 27th, 2010
• Read The Whole Thing - January 26th, 2010