If you're from Ruston or attended Louisiana Tech University, the name Wyly is familiar. There's a building that sits in the middle of the campus and houses a whole host of classrooms and offices. Even the Office of the President where I worked as a student. But that's a whole other story.
So back to the building. Sixteen floors to be exact. By most city standards, not so tall, but in Ruston, it's the tallest building in town.
Wyly Tower.
You may or may not know how this building came to be. Sam and Charles Wyly, brothers, raised in Delhi, Louisiana, graduates of LaTech, entrepreneurs, funded the Charles Wyly, Sr. Tower of Learning in memory of their father.
No, they didn't inherit those fund from Charles, Sr. and they didn't make it all in Delhi, but apparently they've done pretty good for themselves. Billionaires. Associated with names like Michaels, Bonanza, Sterling Software, and Green Mountain Energy.
They're pretty involved in politics, but apparently they've also done some good with all that money.
Well, their lawyers are going to get some of it now. The S.E.C. has charged them both with insider trading and securities fraud. And this isn't their first wrangle with the S.E.C. Who knows if they'll join Martha with a rap sheet (no comment on that fiasco), but people in high places do seem to have a long way to fall.
Things like this make me so sad cuz of the ripple effect. When the Regis family crashed it wrecked the economy of their corporate headquarters along with the economy of my hometown. Adelphia had breathed new life into an economically depressed area...the hotels, restaurants, schools, and housing industry had come to life....not to mention the cultural benefits. John Regis provided trips to Buffalo to see/hear the symphony. He loved the area and stayed there to improve it and he did for several years. Hopefully this won't destroy nearly as many lives because it is a different type of crime.
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