Pirate Cove: An Insider’s Account of the Infamous Southport Lane Scandal

Bailey, a certified fraud examiner who provides “financial, management, and corporate development services” to struggling companies, debuts with a disappointing account of his involvement in the collapse of the private equity firm Southport Lane Management. In 2013, Southport hired Bailey for advice about Lieb Cellars, a Long Island wine company in which it had invested. Not long after Bailey took the contract, he spotted evidence of suspicious cash transfers in the private equity firm’s records, which prompted him to dig deeper and uncover evidence of massive wrongdoing. With the help of a neighbor who worked for the FBI, Bailey blew the whistle on what turned out to be a $350 million money laundering scheme. Bailey’s cooperation with the feds led to multiple indictments, including that of Alex Burns, Southport’s chief strategist and majority shareholder, who died by suicide in 2021 before he could be sentenced for his crimes. Unfortunately, Bailey’s banal narration (“While all struggling companies are completely different, they all share similar characteristics. Most companies wind up in trouble due to one or a series of bad decisions”) and slack pacing rob the narrative of much of its drama. This tale of financial malfeasance falls flat. (Nov.)