Devaney Booed Off Stage

Date: Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Author: Teri Buhl, New York Post

JOHN Devaney, who be came the poster-boy for hedge-fund blow-ups when his $600 million fund went belly-up earlier this year after a wrong-way bet on the direction of the asset-backed securities index, was heckled off the stage in Miami last week during the annual confab for the asset-backed securities industry.

Devaney, who made no friends after his United Capital Markets' flame-out left investors with zero payout, began to speak during a Monday morning discussion at the conference but soon began a rant on why the markets were wrong and he was right.

The crowd began to boo and the microphone was taken away from him, according to several spies in attendance.

Devaney, whose taste for the high life was evident as he was often seen with his 124-foot yacht and Sikorsky helicopter, followed his morning performance with an invitation-only only party that night aboard a 125-foot yacht called Dorothy Ann - a boat he borrowed for the night from his mother!

He had to sell his yacht, called Positive Carry, and his chopper.

At this point, the day took another odd twist. Two invitees who spoke to The Post on condition of anonymity said they stopped by Devaney's soiree for the free drinks and to see what the boat looked like.

During the night, two investors who had lost a total of $1.5 million continued to stew over their loss and, with the help of a few cocktails, cooked up a plan to steal some of the expensive art hanging on the walls of the yacht, our spies reported.

It was the only way they would ever see a dime's return on their Devaney investments, they thought. After the party ended, the duo returned to the boat. But before they boarded, the thought of getting arrested for grand larceny got the better of them and they backed off.

Devaney said he still trades his own money, as much as $50 million, and recently bought $500 million of distressed bonds for between five cents and 10 cents on the dollar.

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