Irony: Bear Stearns receives SEC notice, accused of anticompetitive practices

To quote Karen from Will & Grace, the latest twist in the demise of Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) is "funny because it's sad."

In a filing with the SEC, Bear Stearns disclosed (subscription required) that it had received notice that civil charges could be en route related to allegations of anticompetitive practices in bidding for municipal securities. The FTC is also alleging that Bear Stearns has violated consumer protection laws.

Let me get this straight. The executives at Bear Stearns managed to run a once-proud investment bank to the brink of ruin while simultaneously cheating their customers and competitors? That's pretty impressive stuff!. It's a little bit like hearing a rumor that the Miami Dolphins were illegally videotaping their opponents while compiling a 1 win and 15 loss season.

But this is pretty much par for the course for Bear Stearns. Gary Weiss recently wrote that Bear Stearns regularly flouted the law" and referred to its "history of sliminess." Check out Weiss' blog post for a compendium of Bear's regulatory run-ins disclosed in its 10-K