(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN

It was the 8th largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.

And now - the man at the helm of MF Global - has resigned.

Jon Corzine was chairman and CEO of the major investment firm -- whose bets on European sovereign debt have prompted an investigation by both the FBI and the SEC. CNN reports -

“The firm collapsed and allegedly lost track of $600 million in customer money.”

To boot, The New York Times is reporting Corzine has hired white collar criminal lawyer Andrew Levander -- who according to the Times is built for prominent cases like this.

“Mr. Corzine has retained a New York lawyer who is no stranger to defending prominent Wall Street executives. He represented John Thain, the former chief executive at Merrill Lynch, in a government inquiry related his role in Merrill’s sale to Bank of America.”

In the resignation announcement Corzine confirmed he isn’t seeking $12 million in severance payments. But MSNBC notes -- as for reporters’ other questions -- Corzine seems to be laying low.

“Immediate issues, the CFTC is counting all of the money that is in their clients’ accounts and making sure that it’s accounted for, and there’s a lot of people that believe that there is going to be a shortfall. At the same time, nobody has seen Jon Corzine. You know, we have reporters out around the city who have been looking for him. People say they have seen him in the office, but he hasn’t made a public appearance yet.”

Corzine is also a former governor of New Jersey -- and from 1994 to 1999 helped run Goldman Sachs. Bloomberg suggests -- after making a name for himself as a quote “intrepid trader who pushed the limits” -- it’s been a long fall for Corzine.

“When Corzine, after almost a decade as a U.S. senator and governor, was named chairman and CEO of MF Global, his plan for expanding the futures and commodities trader involved taking more risk. Less than 20 months later, the company is bankrupt, days after posting a $192 million quarterly loss.”

Last week acquisition negotiations with Interactive Brokers fell apart -- according to Barrons -- over discrepancies in the investment firm’s books. And now, says Barrons, MF Global’s entire board and audit committee faces questions.

“J.C. Flowers & Co ... a major MF Global shareholder, recruited Corzine for the CEO job at MF Global. Until yesterday, Corzine was a non-salaried operating partner at J.C. Flowers, which is led by former Goldman banker Christopher Flowers... (ANCHOR: Also) Two members of MF Global’s five-person audit and risk committee sit on the audit committees of three other public companies.”

In his statement of resignation Corzine says he intends to continue to “assist” MF Global and the board in the ongoing investigation into the firm’s assets.