] NEW YORK, Aug. 13 -- It was the summer of 1998. The bull
] market was kicking into full swing. Wall Street banks
] barely gave a second thought to hiring young whiz kids
] straight out of college.
]
] Historically staid brokerage giant Merrill Lynch & Co.
] sensed an opportunity to make big money in the new Wild
] West world of deregulated energy trading. But no one at
] the firm understood the market. So Merrill went out and
] hired people who said they did.
]
] Among the recruits was a 22-year-old wonder boy named
] Daniel L. Gordon. At an age when many students are just
] finishing college, Gordon already had a master's degree
] in international economics from Yale and had spent a year
] working at an energy-trading firm in Baltimore.
]
] Within two years of joining Merrill, prosecutors allege,
] Gordon would steal $43 million. If true, it would be one
] of the most audacious heists in Wall Street history.
] Gordon has not been charged with any wrongdoing. His
] attorney, Alan Levine, declined to comment on the
] allegations and said Gordon would be unavailable for
] comment. Merrill would not comment on either the
] allegations or Gordon's tenure with the firm.

Interesting read.

A Merrill Lynch Whiz Kid, and Then a Suspect (washingtonpost.com)