Realising there was still money to be made, even in a depressed financial economy, he joined and soon took charge of a Long Island penny stockbroking firm.
While making a good living, he decided to go upmarket and create his own Wall St firm and make the big money.
And so began his decline into the worst excesses, leaving a trail of women, drugs and financial victims behind him.
It was only a matter of time until the law caught up with him and made him pay for his mistakes.
The R18 label is well applied here as not too much is left to the imagination.