In September 2007, with Wall Street confronting a crisis caused by too many souring mortgages, Citigroup executives gathered in a wood-paneled library to assess their own well-being. There, Citigroup ’s chief executive, Charles O. Prince III , learned for the first time (emphasis added) that the bank owned about $43 billion in mortgage-related assets. He asked Thomas G. Maheras , who oversaw trading at the bank, whether everything was O.K. Mr. Maheras told his boss that no big losses were looming, according to people briefed on the meeting who would speak only on the condition that they not be named. Oh, and it just gets better and better . But seriously, this isn't really funny at all. Unless you are sitting on a pile of gold and are loaded for bear, the next couple of years look to be, um, troublesome. Citigroup is poised to make the failure of AIG and Lehman Bros look like walk in the park. Oh, and what's Emperor Nero doing? That wanker is probably watching ESPN and sc...