Here is a roster of some of the fallen ones.

Jimmy Cayne Former CEO Bear Stearns - latest compensation $32.1 million. He led Bear Stearns for 15 years. He resigned last January. Bear Stearns was acquired by JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) for $10.00 a share. He and his wife purchased two luxury apartments at the Plaza.

Richard Fuld Former CEO Lehman Brothers - Latest compensation $34.4 million. Subpoenaed by federal investigators to determine if he misled investors at Lehman. Executives at Barclays Capital (NYSE: BCS) bought Lehman's US assets.

Kerry Killinger Former CEO WaMu - latest compensation $4.5 million. He became CEO in 1990 and built WaMU into one of the largest US mortgage writers. He offered sub prime mortgages which led to WaMU's rapid growth. He was ousted in September when WaMU was sold to JPMorgan.

Angelo Mozilo Former CEO Countrywide - latest compensation $132 million. He helped build Countrywide into one of the country's largest lenders. A host of class action lawsuits have been filed against Countrywide, which is under investigation by the SEC. Countrywide was sold to Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) in January.

One of the many lingering questions about the government's $700 billion buyout of the financial services industry is what to do about Washington Mutual Inc. (NYSE: WM).

The Seattle-based bank, which under former Chief Executive Kerry Killinger racked up billions of dollars in losses following a disastrous acquisition and lending strategy, is reportedly trying to sell itself. Officials with the Office of Thrift Supervision are eager for a "speedy" sale, according to the Financial Times. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), HSBC and Banco Santander all have expressed an interest in WaMu, the paper said.

More speficially, they are probably most interested in Washington Mutual's network of more than 2,300 "consumer and small business banking stores" throughout the country. And what about the company's radioactive loan portfolio? That, fellow taxpayers, is all yours.

How much subprime sludge is on WaMu's books is not clear. As of June 30, it had assets of more than $309.7 billion. WaMu is expecting $19 billion $4.5 in loan losses during the quarter. The losses may lost as much as $19 billion over the next two-and-a-half years though analysts are expecting the red ink to be more like $28 billion, according to BusinessWeek. To make matters worse, WaMu does about half of its lending in California, one of the states hit hardest by the subprime crisis.

No sooner did I post about Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM) last Friday (Chasing Value: Are you watching WaMu?) and buy it, I was undercut by the announcement of a change at the top.

The news just two days later read: Washington Mutual Will Name Meridian Capital's Alan Fishman CEO, WSJ Says.

I have made some bad picks and had some bad timing but this must be the biggest blunder so far.

This morning I received the following comment to last Friday's post:

• Mike said; Ya, Wamu... Great stock. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha

So I cannot hide from the truth and while their are brighter stock pickers on the Web then I, at least I can try to maintain the highest level of integrity. It is not so much that my commentary last Friday was unfounded or untrue, but that it appears from Wall Streets perspective to be another case of Washington Mutual doing 'too little too late'. That clearly is also the opinion of the WaMu Board because the ouster of WaMu CEO Kerry Killinger is part of that story.

Mr. Killinger was apparently very quick to promote questionable lending practices and very slow to admit his blunders and take corrective action. While the bank may have many positive attributes, if it does not have the cash to survive the current industry and internal difficulties then as many think it will not survive in it's current form. I hope not to make the same mistake and that is part of why I feel it is important to admit my errors responsibly and to also provide readers a forum to express their thoughts.

This morning there is plenty of banter about the company searching for a buyer, another idea Killinger resisted earlier in the year. Now whatever happens he will not be a part of the decision.

Last Friday WaMu closed at $4.27. It is trading $2.14, down $0.18 as of 11:55 AM EDT.

FINAL UPDATE: closed today at $2.83, up $0.51 or 21.98% -- go figure?

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 own shares of WM.