Hiring, firings, corruption, the new tax law and a volatile political climate shaped The Bond Buyer's list of most-read articles of 2018.

The now-defunct unregistered broker-dealer Core Performance Management, LLC, and four of its former employees settled fraud and MSRB rule violations with the SEC for engaging in municipal bond flipping and kickback scheme.

With all the wrongdoing by powerful players in the public and private sectors, it appears very likely that these players may owe lots of money to bondholders.

Bank director Sarah Riordan said the alleged misconduct did not involve any bond funds.

The SEC wants a quick end to its case against former Ramapo, N.Y. town supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence, but St. Lawrence's lawyer wants a federal judge to proceed to trial.

Public entities are especially susceptible to email scams because open records and open meetings laws and transparent operations make it easy for criminals to conduct reconnaissance on employees and transactions.

One troubling practice has persisted from an era when pay-to-play was rampant and kickbacks were just the cost of doing business