Mad Dog's Tales

Even in a place and time known for excess, Jeffrey Beck, a "rainmaker" who drummed up merger deals for Wall Street's Drexel Burnham Lambert, stood out as one of the most colorful takeover specialists ever to don a power tie. Nicknamed "Mad Dog" for his courage under fire, he regaled friends with tales of his jungle-patrol days in Viet Nam. He talked of his Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and four Purple Hearts. He often told colleagues that he stood to inherit a multibillion-dollar fortune from the German brewery family of the same name.

Soon Beck's celebrity spread beyond the financial community. He made a cameo appearance in Oliver Stone's film Wall Street and became chums with megastar Michael Douglas.

But the legend of Mad Dog is collapsing faster than a junk bond. Last week the Wall Street Journal disclosed that Beck, 43, never served in Viet Nam and has no ties to any beer barons. Interviewing several of Beck's relatives and colleagues, Journal reporter Bryan Burrough discovered that Mad Dog had invented much of his past. During Beck's supposed Viet Nam service he was actually attending Florida State University. One woman who dated Beck after the breakup of his second marriage said the banker "would wake up in cold sweats, shaking," saying he'd been dreaming about Viet Nam. "The guy lied in his sleep," she said.

Even so, Beck thrived at the Oppenheimer investment firm from 1979 until 1985, when he provoked disbelief by pledging to put up $75 million of his own money to rescue a deal. He was fired and then joined Drexel, where he advised buyout king Henry Kravis in his $25 billion takeover of RJR-Nabisco. When Burrough confronted Beck about his tales, the Wall Streeter denied telling most of them. Now Beck has apparently gone AWOL. Drexel, which received his resignation in the mail three weeks ago, says it has been unable to get in touch with him.