\n<\/p>\n
As head of security, Comey reported to Dalio\u2019s longtime deputy Greg Jensen, who seemed eager to prove that he took the protection of Bridgewater\u2019s secrets as seriously as Dalio. With little evidence of actual offending behavior to snuff out, they created their own. Comey helped come up with a plan to leave a binder, clearly labeled as Jensen\u2019s, unattended in the Bridgewater offices. It worked like a charm. Comey watched as a low-ranked Bridgewater employee stumbled upon the binder and began to peruse it. Jensen and Comey put the employee on trial, found him guilty, and fired him, with Dalio\u2019s approval.<\/p>\n
During and after Comey\u2019s era at Bridgewater, tens of thousands of hours of the firm\u2019s internal deliberations, arguments and trials were uploaded into what was called the \u201cTransparency Library\u201d and available for playback for all at the firm.<\/p>\n
Lordy, there was plenty to watch.<\/p>\n
No doubt Comey\u2019s most infamous internal case was his prosecution of Bridgewater co-chief executive officer, Eileen Murray, who stood out like a pimple in Bridgewater\u2019s blue-blooded executive suite. She\u2019d grown up in a housing project in Queens, rarely wore skirts, never married, never had children, and talked frequently about her dogs. A former Morgan Stanley executive, she sent emails off the cuff, all lowercase, with typos, suggesting she was too busy to give anything her full attention.<\/p>\n
The proximate cause of Murray\u2019s lesson in the application of The Principles was innocuous enough. A job candidate mentioned to a Bridgewater executive that he was familiar with the hedge fund\u2019s head of accounting, Perry Poulos, one of Murray\u2019s hires. The job candidate evinced surprise\u2014didn\u2019t they know Poulos had been fired from Morgan Stanley?<\/p>\n
Comey grabbed a former FBI agent on the Bridgewater staff and went to intercept the unsuspecting Poulos. The duo pulled him into a conference room without warning.<\/p>\n
\u201cHi, guys,\u201d Poulos said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just want to know, is there anything in your background we should know about?\u201d Comey responded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had some things there, but it\u2019s all cleared up now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou wouldn\u2019t mind if we ask a few questions and look a little more?\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s really nothing to find, Poulos said.<\/p>\n
Go ahead. He exited the room, heart racing, and soon found Murray. She knew, as he did, that he had been let go from Morgan Stanley after questions were raised about his expenses. But Murray sensed a larger target at play. \u201cIt\u2019s not you,\u201d she told Poulos. \u201cIt\u2019s me. They are trying to get to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Comey called in Poulos for another interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you talk to anyone about this?\u201d Comey asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I haven\u2019t talked to anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou live with Eileen, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Knowing Bridgewater\u2019s reputation for intimate relationships, Poulos assumed Comey was sniffing for a romantic angle. During the week, Poulos said, he sometimes spent the evening at Murray\u2019s place, in separate bedrooms.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven that evening, after we spoke, you didn\u2019t talk to her?\u201d Comey asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember saying anything in particular.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n