Citigroup VP's popular homophobic, misogynistic blog earns him speaking gig -- and pink slip

It's not surprising to hear that Wall Street is still rife with type A, arrogant, sexist pricks who engage in frat boy behavior. Michael J. McCarthy made a name for himself -- as "Large," the proprietor of an execreble blog called Take A Report. His cover was blown and when his employer got wind of the content his *ss was grass.

"This employee was terminated for behavior that violated the firm's code of conduct and policies," Citigroup spokeswoman Danielle Romero-Apsilos said.

McCarthy, a vice president, declined to comment on his departure from the New York-based bank. Financial industry regulatory records show he's been at Citigroup for seven years, most recently trading shares of utility and power companies.

...The Website, created in April 2007, consists of commentary about homosexuals, excretory functions, concert reviews and college football picks.

How about this commentary?

And what's below the fold is just, well, let's say "juvenile" is probably too big a compliment. Pity the women in this man's life.

This picture must’ve been taken at some sort of exchange program for ugly people… Maybe it’s one of those charitable workshops that gives women like “Thickness” on the far right a chance to see what life is like for people who exercise and actually give a shit about how they look.

Now I know people are going to fixate on the blond wearing the all-black dress in the near left corner, but I want to make sure you appreciate the optical illusion that is occurring right next to her… That seemingly Puerto Rican chick next to Blondie has her leg up on the table. But if you look real quick, it looks like that raised leg belongs to the sista’ standing next to Thickness. So the illusion is that it appears as though the black chick is “cooling off the cooch” over that bucket of ice… Didn’t that just blow your mind?

There's plenty more where that came from, including a hi-lar-i-ous P'shop of the Michelin man inserted into the above pic to represent the zaftig woman on the right. Has McCarthy been shunned for being "outed" as blogger Large? Not in the least -- he is slated to deliver the keynote speech at the Dallas Security Traders Association's convention next month.

"He seems to be an extremely well-known person across the trading community and we thought it would be an interesting change of pace from what we've done in the past,'' said Alan Marshall, chairman of the Dallas Security Traders conference, which expects about 300 to 400 people to attend the event. ``It seemed like this would be a good opportunity for people to try to laugh a little bit.

So does the Dallas Security Traders Association endorse the views expressed by Mr. McCarthy? Is it all in good fun?

While McCarthy's blog is pretty rank, Citigroup cited "behavior that violated the firm's code of conduct and policies," even though he never blogged about his employer, mentioned Citigroup or identified himself. You can be fired for blogging about your job, using your work computer or its network for personal matters, on your lunch hour -- and even for blogging at home in many states, unless there is explicit permission to do so. Case law has usually sided with the employer.

According to the 2006 Workplace E-Mail, Instant Messaging & Blog Survey by the American Management Association and the ePolicy Institute, 26 percent of employers have fired employees for misuse of e-mail. Another 2 percent have terminated workers for inappropriate instant messaging chat; while yet a further 2 percent have dismissed employees for offensive blogging content, including content posted on employees' personal home computers.

Of course, many organizations haven't updated their HR employee handbooks to establish specific guidelines for all sorts of technology uses -- including email, portable electronic devices, etc. Some may not be as restrictive in terms of banning all personal use of company technology, but Citigroup, as a financial institution, surely has a comprehensive, wide-ranging policy on such things -- and that's why it was able to sh*tcan "Large." Heck, Citigroup probably monitors its employees' communications.

A survey of more than 700 companies by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that almost three-quarters of those companies monitor their workers' use of the Internet and check employee email, and more than half review employee phone calls. According to a study by the American Management Association, businesses offering financial services -- such as banks, brokerage houses, insurance firms, and real estate companies -- are most likely to monitor their workers' communications.

Hat tip, David.