3ce26fc3-b31b-448b-bc74-f9ec01c3149fPutting almost all of its chips on mortgage-backed securities work paid off big for Thacher Proffitt & Wood. Then the market turned, and so did the firm’s luck. David Bario reports

Thacher Proffitt & Wood real estate partner Donald Simone was at his desk on the 40th floor of the World Trade Center’s south tower early on 11 September, 2001, pushing to close a deal, when United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the building about three dozen floors above.