The Personal Side

Family Roots Mr. Young was born Spencer Clifford Young III, and was raised in Long Island, New York, spending the preponderance of his childhood in Bayside, a middle class neighborhood in borough of Queens in New York City.  He had a decidedly normal and happy childhood.  Vacations were principally comprised of family gatherings at modest vacation homes in New Jersey and Florida that were generationally passed on, and childhood summers were typically spent playing stickball. After his sophomore year in high school, his family, moved to Great Neck, suburban town on the North Shore of Western Long Island (the "North Shore").  Upon completion of his graduate and undergraduate studies, Mr. Young returned to Long Island, where he remained until 2005, residing in various towns in Queens and the North Shore during this time. As noted below, Mr. Young's  ancestry traces back to many parts of Europe, including Sweden, Denmark, Scotland, Germany and France, and through marriage, his older sons' ancestral roots include Italy and Ireland.

Father His father, Spencer C. Young, Jr. , known to his friends as "Cliff" was a member of "the greatest generation".  He was a World War II veteran who served on the front lines, including the Normandy invasion.  He declined to talk much about his war experience, as it was especially traumatic.  He lost much of his health from extended malnutrition as a prisoner of war, and had required six months of hospitalization upon his return home. Growing up St. Albans, Queens in New York City, Cliff was strong, athletic and excelled at baseball, football and basketball.  Of note, as a senior on the Andrew Jackson High School Basketball Team there was an exceptionally talented freshman -- future NBA Hall of Famer, Bob Cousy. Cliff graduated from Ohio Weslyan, and after two years at Brooklyn Law School, decided he didn't want to be a lawyer.  He married his high school sweetheart, became a successful businessman, running his own insurance agency, and provided well for his family.   Involvement in his son's activities was a must for Cliff, and as a result he was very close with his son.  In fact, he coached every one of his son's gradeschool baseball, basketball and football teams.  At the end of every day, before going to bed he would chat with his son, taking a keen interest in whatever went on in his world that day. Cliff was also an avid golfer and his favorite and most frequent golf partner was his wife, Edna May -- Following the birth of their only son, they adopted a daughter (Denise) eleven years later.   Paternal Grandfather Mr. Young's paternal grandfather was an immigrant from Scotland, a World War I veteran, and a lifetime politician and civil servant.  Known to his friends and colleagues as "Spence", Spencer C. Young, Sr. started his civil career in 1922 as an entry level bookkeeper for New York City, and worked his way up, successfully fulfilling roles as Chief of the Bureau of Real Estate, the Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Public Improvements and Construction. He briefly left the New York City government in 1942, when he was appointed United States Marshall for the Eastern District by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

In 1946, he was Treasurer of New York City and served in that role for eight years under the administrations of Mayor William O'Dwyer and Mayor Vincent Impellitteri.  During that time, he was credited with helping avert a looming New York City fiscal crisis by initiating a Program of selling property tax liens, a somewhat novel idea at the time. To bring this about, he worked with prominent local developers to generate private investor interest in participating in the auction of property tax receivables backed by a lien on the properties.  This was an important step to obtain ratification of the program by the City Council.   Most notable among these developers was Fred Trump, who assumed a leadership role in generating sufficient private investor interest to support ratification.  The Program was a success – a fiscal crisis was averted, and a new method for improving municipal liquidity was established.   In these auctions, Mr. Trump successfully bid on many tax liens associated with multifamily properties in Queens, and converted them to fee simple interests, thereby accelerating the growth of his burgeoning empire of apartment buildings, which was eventually subsumed into what is now The Trump Organization. Spence graduated from Pace University, and he too married his high school sweetheart (Frances Hoffman, the daughter of immigrants from Germany and France), and was an avid golfer -- they had one son ("Cliff").    Maternal Grandparents & Emphasis on Family Mr. Young's maternal grandfather and grandmother were immigrants from Denmark and Sweden, respectively, and it was his grandfather's commercial laundry business in Brooklyn, New York that provided for his family, including a son and three daughters. On both sides of the family, traditional family structure was practiced in that the respective housewives maintained households of love, compassion and support, which in turn cultivated a large closely knit extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews, who remained close and congregated often.

Mr. Young's Family Mr. Young met Maria Lombardi (the granddaughter of Irish and Italian immigrants) on a chartered Club Med trip to the Carribean in 1981.  They were on the same flights coming and going, but they met by chance on the return flight back.  Mr. Young had originally planned his vacation a week earlier, however, his buddy Dr. Tom Greco was a Dentist, whose assistant mistakenly booked patients during the week they originally planned to head to Club Med.  Maria also had scheduled her vacation for a different week, but circumstances with her accompanying friend Audrey modified their original plans accordingly.   So Spencer and Maria's happenstance meeting was decidedly an act of Fate.  Their relationship got off to a challenging beginning, as it had to be maintained via telephone for quite some time because Mr. Young came down with viral pneumonia upon his return to the U.S.  Nevertheless, their relationship blossomed and they were married in 1983.  They made their first homes in Douglaston,  and later in Forest Hills, both being coop apartments located in the borough of Queens, New York.  Mr. Young served as Treasurer on the Board of Directors of each. They had three sons, Michael (born in 1986) and twins, Kevin & Ryan (born in 1989).  Shortly after Michael's birth, they purchased a house in Manhasset, Long Island, where they raised their three boys.

Relationship With His Sons Mr. Young was extensively involved in raising his sons, and loves them each dearly.   As youngsters, he often read to them before they went to sleep, and whenever he felt their attention was beginning to wane, he would nonchalantly quip something like: " . . . and then the raccoon died !", which not only garnered their attention, it would invariably result in uproarious laughter -- albeit admittedly a "you had to be there" moment.  On Sundays in the Fall and Winter, they would regularly huddle around the TV to watch NFL games (notably the Giants), and in the Spring and Summer, they went to Met and Yankee games. On vacations, the four of them were inseparable.  While Mom lounged at the pool or beach, they would play intense doubles tennis and the competitive level of the night-time two-on-two full court basketball games were "off the hook".  There were also some unplanned events that introduced a level of excitement they would have preferred not to have experienced -- for instance, when Mr. Young was demonstrating his purported sailing prowess, he nearly got them lost at sea in a small catamaran.

Coach Young Despite having three sons so close in age and an extensive travel schedule as a financial executive and investment banker, Mr. Young somehow managed to carry on the coaching tradition established by his father, coaching virtually every grade-school baseball, basketball and lacrosse team they played on. As a member of the "over-achiever generation", Mr. Young also served as the Basketball Commissioner for the Manhasset Catholic Youth Organization & Police Athletic League, and he formulated all-star travel teams that he in turn coached. With every team that Mr. Young coached for his sons, he drilled into them the importance of unselfish teamwork and sportsmanship, knowing that such a foundation would serve them well in the future.  In retrospect, it is understandable why the preponderance of the kids who played on Mr. Young's grade school all-star basketball travel teams, eventually went on to play sports at the collegiate level.  Mr. Young was also known for thoughtfully developed playbooks, that emphasized fundamentals.  And these playbooks would invariably contain timeless sayings that can be applied to life's everyday challenges.  For instance, one of Mr. Young's favorites was given to him by his Real Estate Law Professor at Cornell, the late John Sherry: "If you think you are beaten, you are   If you think you dare not, you don't   If you'd like to win, but think you can't   It's almost a cinch you won't . . .

. . .For out in the world you'll find   Success begins with a fellow's will   It's all in the state of mind"   When each of his sons played T-ball, and later baseball, Mr. Young (with Maria's valuable assistance) would prepare a standout banner that would be attention getting, and stir up the esprit de corp of the team.  Mr. Young would also dress up in the appropriate team colors for additional effect. Mr. Young consistently arranged his vacation time each summer so that he could accompany his three sons to lacrosse camp.  In particular, he attended Cornell's Lacrosse Camp, and served as a pro bono coach/camp counselor, and was the only father who did so.  This arrangement was made possible by Hall of Fame Cornell Lacrosse Coach Richie Moran, and later continued, albeit to a lesser extent by subsequent Head Coaches of Cornell Lacrosse, Dave Pietramala and Jeff Tambroni.   Sensing that the sport of lacrosse would continue to grow in popularity, and in turn assist each of his sons to get into the college of their choice, Mr. Young put lacrosse stick in their hands shortly after they learned to walk, and painfully tended goal for them growing up, right up until the point that Michael shattered Mr. Young's thumb with a blistering 90 mph shot (yes, he had a radar gun).

Collegiate Sports Both Michael and Kevin Young played for the Duke Men's Lacrosse Team. Michael graduated from Duke University in May 2008.  In each of his years matriculating, Duke made the NCAA Final Four Lacrosse Championship Tournament, with the exception of the year the infamous lacrosse scandal erupted on the national scene.  During his senior year, Michael was one of the mainstay midfielders, and graduated with honors as a scholar athlete.  He now works for Lazard, a renowned financial advisory & asset management firm.  Michael's brother Kevin is in the class of 2011.  He has been hobbled by a nagging ankle injury since his freshman year, which is unfortunate, for Kevin is he strongest and fastest of the Young brothers.  Noted for his unselfish play, in high school he was "Midfielder of the Year", and his Chaminade lacrosse team won the championship all four years.   Kevin's twin brother Ryan plays for Maryland's Mens Lacrosse team, and was one of the famed freshman "Baby Turtles" in 2008, as coined by the media.   In high school, Ryan was a First Team All American, and ranked as one of the top ten high school lacrosse players in the nation.  He was a standout on the Gold Medal winning Team Long Island in the Empire games, as well as the Gold Medal winning Team USA in the World Games.  Since day one as a freshman, Ryan has run the offense for Maryland, and has also been a Division I All American, and a watch list candidate for the Tewaaraton Award for the best player in college lacrosse.

Flies in the Ointment and Resultant Devastation Mr. Young was as close with his sons and as intimately involved in their activities as his father was with him.  Moreover, he had been happily married for more than 20 years.  However, an unthinkable fraud was perpetrated by certain individuals at Morgan Stanley, where Mr. Young was an Executive Director.  Egregious instances of obstructing justice then ensued, which were then supplemented by increasingly pernicious unlawful activities to cover-up their earlier misdeeds -- and because Mr. Young's quest for justice has been unrelenting, their subsequent efforts of cover up have only augmented.   As stated by those who have publicly exposed their misdeeds, "Morgan Stanley has no conscience and is morally bankrupt", and has had a notorious history with Kirkland & Ellis.  And time and time again, Morgan Stanley has been fined by the NASD and the SEC for obstructing justice.   A Judge even described the collaborative efforts of Morgan Stanley and Kirkland & Ellis as "evidence of malice or evil". Morgan Stanley's unlawful activities include fraud, extortion, corruption, racketeering, commercial sabotage and antitrust, with assistance provided by their notorious partner in crime -- Kirkland & Ellis, who breached their ethics in helping structure Enron's fraudulent private partnerships, and has regularly engaged in obstructing justice with Morgan Stanley.  This unrelenting nightmare began on November 20, 2002 and transmogrified to the point of ripping apart Mr. Young's once close and loving family, punctuated by a painful separation and divorce, eviction from their home of 20 years, and a confounding estrangement between a loving father and his sons.  Moreover, the resultant chronic stress to Mr. Young's now ex-wife, Maria, has manifested life-threatening health consequences for her.

Destiny Redux at a Classic Rivalry After his marriage fell apart and his once close-knit family effectively disintegrated from stress-induced dysfunction, Mr. Young decided on a lark to attend a Duke / UNC basketball game at Cameron Indoor, arguably the biggest rivalry in any sport.  Without a ticket, he made his decision at 8:00 pm to attend this "mega-game", having an 9:00 p.m. tipoff.  From his place in Chapel Hill, he quickly hopped in the shower and headed over to the Duke campus.  Although the toughest ticket in town to score, he quickly sized up a rather imperfect "outdoor market", if you will, fielding offers for a single ticket ranging from $300 to $1,100, most of which were behind the baskets (i.e., less desireable seats).  A pair of tickets that were NOT behind the basket were going for $600, which another fellow had preliminarily circled, but he was unable to reach his friend, because the battery on his phone (fortuitously for Mr. Young) went dead.  With tip-off only minutes away, Mr. Young seized upon the opportunity, bidding $400 for one ticket, conditioned that the seller had to "hit the bid" NOW, and at the same time, the other bidder "blinked", and stormed away in a huff.   Mr. Young then seemed to have only $300 (at least in one pocket that is), but fortunately, the seller had recognized Mr. Young as a frequent "outdoor market" bidder, and acquiesced to the lower price, and gave him his business card to call him for future events, and Mr. Young in turn gave him his last business card in his wallet.   Why is this important?  Read on.

There was electricity in the air, as Mr. Young made his way to his seat.  He "excuse-me"d his way in a few seats, just as they were announcing the starting line-ups, and he seemingly perturbed a strikingly beautiful woman whose seat was next to his.  He apologized, and introduced himself, as "Spencer", and she responded saying her name was "Leah".  Although sitting on her other side was a fellow she seemed to have come to the game with, Spencer and Leah shared an instant and obvious "chemistry" and they bantered throughout the game, mutually conveying their impressions about the historical context of the rivalry, as well as the game at hand.  Leah said she was from Kansas, and she waxed eloquent about UNC coach Roy Williams' legacy as the former KU basketball coach.  Mr. Young replied by saying he was a "damn Yankee" from New York, who was recently separated and had relocated in Chapel Hill, to be close to two of this three sons who were attending Duke.  Leah's basketball insights were extraordinary, and Mr. Young thought to himself that he had never met a woman more knowledgeable about college basketball.  They were both actively rooting for Duke, who held a lead through most of the game, but in the end UNC prevailed. As the final buzzer went off, everyone stood up from their seats to head for the exits, but there was a egress delay in the section that Leah and Spencer were in, so everyone patiently waited until the exiting traffic ebbed.  Seizing the moment, Mr. Young asked Leah if she would "like to have a cup of coffee next week?"  Startled by the unexpected invitation, she turned and mouthed (without uttering a sound), what Mr. Young could read from her lips as: "He's my boyfriend".  Undaunted, Mr. Young quiped: "That's OK, I'd still like to have a cup of coffee with you".  Noticing that Leah was uncomfortable, Mr. Young searched his wallet for a business card -- no luck, he gave his last one to the ticket scalper.  Noting the fan traffic starting to thin out and proceed, Mr. Young quickly took the scalper's business card, tore off the section containing the name and number (to remove any possibility of confusion) and wrote "Spencer" on the back, along with his phone number.  He called out to Leah just as she was starting to descend the stairs, saying "here's the business card of the scalper I was telling you about".  She demurely accepted it, saying "Thanks".  She stuffed it into her jacket pocket, and bounded down the stairs.

Family Changes and Additions In a role reversal, Mr. Young wondered if Leah would call him.  Weeks passed, but he received no call, so Mr. Young interpreted this to mean her relationship with her boyfriend was stronger than what was displayed at the game, and/or that the interest was not mutual.  He then put the matter out of his mind.  Two months later, he picks up his voicemail messages, and there is a message that goes as follows:  "Hi -- this is Leah -- I'm the girl who sat next to you at the Duke UNC game.  Could you call me at . . . .".  Mr. Young returned her call the following day, and Leah explained that she had just broken up with her boyfriend.  They proceeded to speak for hours, and decided on a lunch date, at a quaint sandwich shop located at The Courtyard of Chapel Hill.  And as they say, the rest is history. Although engaged, they had to delay setting a date for their wedding until Mr. Young's divorce was finalized.  Meanwhile, Leah blessed Mr. Young with a fourth son (Jackson), which was miraculous because she was long informed by doctors that she would never be able to conceive a child.