The corporate umbrella could not shelter the company from 700 rainy days, which is just about what has transpired. Last night, the Wall Street Journal and AP are reporting, "Citigroup, in a bid to boost its equity capital could result in the federal government raising its stake in the troubled bank this week to as much as 40 percent, a person familiar with the talks said." -- (note: we did not even get the usual "a reliable source said")

The company has gone from a $250 billion powerhouse to a $13.73 billion basket case, and if not for the $45 billion federal infusion previously intended to prop up the bank, it would be long gone. Not to mention tens of billions that came from sovereign funds and other companies.

Every report I have read so far suggests the government may be converting its preferred shares to common, greatly diluting existing shareholders. If the maneuver were done at the closing price of $2.52, what assurance would anyone have that the clouds over the company would disappear? Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and others have spoken about stress testing the bank under various negative scenarios, but I have not come across a person that would give a plug nickle for any test Washington or Wall Street might conduct that is credible on main street.

Has Bernanke taken on the role of "odds-maker" handicapping the chances of Citigroup's collapse?

Just on the face of it there is a kind of splendor that could only be appreciated inside the Washington beltway, where one would actually consider buying something in private for triple the price that it could be bought for in the open market.

The company can be bought for less than $14 billion in the open market -- any guesses how much the American taxpayers representatives will fork over behind closed doors? Find me a 'reliable source' for that number! Do $1,000 toilet seats and $300 hammers rattle anyone's memory banks? -- ooh, there's that phrase again!

The government may be rolling the dice this week on whether a gamble in Citigroup will be rewarded or just become more fodder for over caffeinated bloggers and late night comedians alike.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. Disclosure: I do not own shares of C.