"I thought the firm had a very good shot under Corzine, but clearly he went overboard, " said Mike Fitzpatrick, a 59-year-old former crude-oil trader at MF Global who left shortly after Mr. Corzine's arrival because he didn't want to take more risks.

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But the legislators went way overboard in their reaction.

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"In the past I was still young and went a bit overboard, but now over the past three years I've managed to keep it more under control, " he says.

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C. went a little overboard.

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