Quote from Angrycat:
Yep, I have. Den of thieves. Never been in the S&P pit as I've always been in New York, but my very best guess is that's also a den of thieves - particularly the years you mention.
Let's face it, most floor trading is all about ripping off customers either by getting regulators to encode economic rents for the people on the floor or by limiting competition either through regulatory restrictions or fighting electronic trading (eh, same thing, right?). The NYMEX oil pit just happened to be really good at all those things and when a trade came to the floor, getting a piece of it was impossible for anyone new. While all pits collude to some extent, the oil futures pit mastered it better than most.
One example: the old timers like Bollinger know all the brokers and trained them to come to them with orders. So, instead of a broker bringing an order to the pit and announcing it so that traders can compete for the order, the broker whispers it into Bollinger's ear and Bollinger does as much of the order at a price he wants and only then does the remaining order (if any) gets thrown out to the rest of the pit. Yes, it's illegal and it happens all the time - particularly at the NYMEX. The fact that they put on a spread doesn't change the fact they are thieves. Did you actually try to trade oil futures or were you just visiting the NYMEX floor?
I have no special information that Bollinger is any more guilty of participating than anyone else in that pit. I'm not singling him out, but he doesn't strike me as particularly bright (although, he's a genius compared to most of the commenters on TV).
BTW....I'm not a dude