Why didn’t they start this years ago, before the collapse?

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened criminal inquiries into 14 companies as part of a wide-ranging investigation of the troubled mortgage industry, F.B.I. officials said Tuesday.

The F.B.I. said it was looking into possible accounting fraud, insider trading or other violations in connection with loans made to borrowers with weak, or subprime, credit.

The agency declined to identify the companies under investigation but said the inquiry, which began last spring, involves companies across the financial industry, including mortgage lenders, loan brokers and Wall Street banks that packaged home loans into securities. It is unclear when charges, if any, might be filed.

Another question – what does this mean for the millions the CEO’s have made off of screwing the common man? I guess this is Bush’s way of putting the people out to pasture that he supported for the past seven years. Things are rough when your trying to salvage a legacy.