It’s finally Friday,

The verdict is in and all four former Wilmington Trust executives have been found guilty in a long-running federal fraud case.

The trial was years in the making and for much of the time, Wilmington Trust’s successor bank M&T was also listed as a defendant.

M&T cut a separate deal with the government,  leaving the four former execs on their own  in dealing with dogged federal prosecutors who had built a case over the space of several years.  

The defense waged a vigorous battle in arguing that the four men, including Wilmington Trust President Robert Harra, had no criminal intent and believed the toxic loans would eventually turn around.

It was not good news for the defense when the jury did not quickly return with a verdict. It did come as a shock to some that the four individuals were found guilty on all charges.

A  couple of mysteries remain after the verdict.

The first involves former CEO Ted Cecala who has never been charged or faced civil proceedings despite presiding over the demise of the financial institution.

The second was why the defense did not  seek a change of venue to another I-95 corridor city.

They may have been betting that a hometown jury would be more sympathetic.

The opposite could have been true.  Several hundred people lost their jobs and pensions with the fire sale of Wilmington Trust. Others saw the value of their holdings in what many viewed as a reliable “widows and orphans stock”  virtually disappear.

Thursday was another sad day for those of us who remember a top-notch bank and wealth management company captained by exemplary leaders like Bernard Taylor and Leonard Quill.  

Enjoy your weekend. This newsletter return on Monday. – Doug Rainey, publisher.