Demonstration at DOJ Calls for Prosecution of Big Bankers

CWA President Larry Cohen and Deborah Castillo, a member of Local 6350, at a news conference.

Former homeowners and activists from across the country protested in front of the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., on Monday to spotlight the reckless and corrupt behavior by big banks that have unfairly cost families their homes, and the government's refusal to prosecute these actions.

Seventeen former homeowners were arrested during the protest; demonstrators who set up tents to stay all night also were arrested.

At a news conference held as part of the protest, CWA President Larry Cohen said: "Shame, shame, shame on bankers and the Department of Justice for thinking that banks are not only too big to fail, but they're too big to jail." He then introduced Deborah Castillo, a member of CWA Local 6350 in St. Louis.

The protest was organized in part by Occupy Our Homes, a grassroots organization that grew out of the Occupy Wall Street demonstration to support homeowners facing foreclosure. Other union, grassroots and community organizations also joined the demonstration.

The group called on the Justice Department to prosecute bankers that have engaged in wrongdoing and called for restitution to homeowners for the banks' actions. In too many cases, the banks, many of which received substantial taxpayer bailouts, refused to provide fair mortgage relief, engaged in unfair practices and improperly withheld funds due to homeowners. Many homeowners received far less than the compensation that was due to them under a $9.2 billion settlement reached between the government and the nation's biggest mortgage companies over those companies' improper foreclosures. Some former homeowners received as little as $300.