This post originally appeared in Business Insider.
To everyone eagerly awaiting the Goldman Sachs elevator book, Straight to Hell: True Tales of Deviance and Excess in the World of Investment Banking, our sincerest apologies.
Simon and Schuster has canceled its deal with former Citi banker John LeFevre. He was notified today via email.
“It’s just a comical mystery to me,” LeFevre told Business Insider. “As of Friday afternoon, after all of the noise—during which Simon & Schuster prohibited me from responding and defending myself—they have continued to support me and stand by our project. Well, until today apparently.”
A statement from Simon and Schuster given to Business Insider says: “In light of information that has recently come to our attention since acquiring John Lefevre’s STRAIGHT TO HELL, Touchstone has decided to cancel its publication of this work.”
Since LeFevre’s identity was reported by Dealbook’s Andrew Ross Sorkin, publications from Gawker to New York magazine have questioned his credibility. New York magazine played with the idea that LeFevre was not acting alone while Gawker accused him of out and out plagiarism.
So Lefevre took to the internet to defend himself.
“We always counted on my identity being revealed and we were confident that it would lend credibility and support to my story and vantage point. And my publisher had been vocal in supporting me after I was outed. So today it’s quite surprising to see them walk away from a contractual obligation.”
LeFevre is confident that the show will go on and that new opportunities await.
“This doesn’t change anything for me,” LeFevre continued. “In the immortal words of Carl Fox, ‘money is only something you need if you don’t die tomorrow.’ Since I have been able to respond, my credibility has only increased. I have been asked to write a regular column for two of the most prestigious capital markets publications, in addition to being an on-record source regarding the new investigation into fixed income allocation practices at Goldman Sachs and other firms.”
So this isn’t the end of the tweeting, the storytelling, or the satire. That will remain the same. What’s new is that there’s a guy walking the earth that signed contracts with both Goldman Sachs and Simon and Schuster … and lost money on them both (for now).
See also: Reporter: Here’s How I Found the Creator of Bitcoin
