Others at the Times offered help at important junctures, including Diana Henriques, David Barboza, Mark Landler, Alison Leigh Cowan, Barnaby Feder, Gina Kolata, Laura Holson, and Adam Liptak. Donna Anderson helped dig up news articles, and Karen Cetinkaya provided photo research. Dylan McClain handled graphics.
I was unusually fortunate to work with three talented researchers—Michael Brick and Jamie Paton, both now reporters in the joint newsroom at the New York Times and TheStreet.com; and Geanne Rosenberg, now a contributing editor at the National Law Journal. Their skills never ceased to astonish me. Remember their names—they will each do big things in journalism.
My savior, as always, was Diane Obara, a hardworking assistant who was always ready to go the extra mile whenever the work piled up. Also helping out were Jacqueline Durham and Anna DiLegge.
I owe particular thanks to Alison Comas, a friend who agreed to read the manuscript in its roughest form to help me determine if I was on the right track. Julianna Patrick saved my life more times than I can count, coming by to help out whenever my schedule proved to be too much. Antonia New provided me with desperately needed suggestions at a critical juncture—and as a result, unknowingly had an effect on the events described in this book. And Jamie Moss of Newspros Strategic Communications once again proved her talent with an endless stream of brilliant suggestions.
I also want to thank Peter Comas, Alan Wachtel, Allan Naarden, Scott Burbine, Edward Beja, Kathy Paul, and Errington Thompson. The guys from Gravy—particularly John Fischer, Scott Friesen, Eric Lambert, Adam Payne, Colin Trevorrow, and Brian Ullman—were all amazingly patient with my frequent absences and never complained. Scott once again proved his diverse talents as he led me on an expedition of the Internet. And, for helping me as only a musical cybergenius can, special thanks go to Wes Carroll, the man of a thousand projects and the driving beat behind the House Jacks (www.housejacks.com), one of America’s most talented rock bands.
My agent, Freya Manston, was the first person to hear about the idea for this book and was always its biggest cheerleader. Without her support, this project would never have been completed.
I also want to thank everyone at Broadway Books, who provided an incredibly supportive and professional experience. In particular, I want to thank my editor, Suzanne Oaks, who once again guided me on my voyage into publishing. Suzanne was assisted by Claire Johnson, who was always ready to answer my endless questions with patience and a smile. Debbie Stier and Suzanne Herz were both a delight; as marketers, they are what authors’ dreams are made of. When the time came for the heavy lifting—that is, the copyediting of this book—Deirdre Hare put in an amazing performance, snapping the manuscript into shape in nothing flat. Supervising the entire production schedule and organization was Bette Alexander, who seemed able to accomplish any request within moments. Lauren Field spent endless hours conducting a legal review with me, making the book all the better with each suggestion. And those are just a few of the people at Broadway who made this experience so wonderful. I thank you all.
Above all, I want to thank my wonderful family. My wife, Theresa Eichenwald, was always there for me—to cheer me on, to get me through the tough days, to lessen the other loads. She was, again, my first reader, my best editor, and my best friend. But this time, she had three helpers: our sons, Adam, Ryan, and Sam. All of them displayed endless patience and support. In truth, this book could not have been written without my family and the contributions they made.
But now, it’s finished. So guys, I’m home.
Kurt Eichenwald has written about white-collar crime and corporate corruption for the New York Times for more than a decade. A two-time winner of the prestigious George Polk Award for excellence in journalism and a finalist for the 2000 Pulitzer Prize, he has been repeatedly selected by TJFR Business News Reporter as one of the nation’s most influential financial journalists. For the Times, he has covered some of the highest-profile news stories emanating from the business world, including the Archer Daniels Midland story, and he is the author of Serpent on the Rock. Eichenwald lives in Westchester County, outside New York City, with his wife and three children.
THE INFORMANT. Copyright © 2000 by Kurt Eichenwald. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. For information, address Broadway Books, a division of Random House, Inc., 1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036.
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The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as:
Eichenwald, Kurt, 1961–
The informant: A true story / Kurt Eichenwald
p. cm.
1. United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2. Archer Daniels Mid- land Company—Corrupt practices. 3. Commercial crimes—United States—Case studies. 4. Informers—United States—Case studies. I. Title.
HV8144.F43 E53 2000
364.16’8’0973—dc21 00-034254
eISBN: 978-0-7679-0896-2
v3.0
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