Crazy Eddie Movie? It's Insaaaaaannne!

Securities fraud on a grand scale, a C.E.O. on the run, a family torn apart by crime. Doesn't it sound like a moviemaker's dream come true?

According to Page Six of the New York Post, Danny DeVito's production company, Jersey films, is hot on the idea of making a movie based on the Crazy Eddie fraud of 1980s, when cousins Sam and Eddie Antar fleeced shareholders of the consumer electronics chains for $100 million.

But if Jersey Films considers the story great fodder for a film, no one told Sam Antar.

In an interview on Wednesday, Antar said he "woke up this morning and didn't know what the hell was going on." He also doubts that his quiet, reclusive brother Eddie would be involved in brokering a movie deal.

A representative for Jersey Films could not be immediately reached for comment.

Sam Antar said that while he has not had any offers from DeVito, he has spoken with outlets including Fox and CNBC about possible projects. Antar pledged that should any deals materialize, he would donate any proceeds from rights sales to charity.

Crazy Eddie, a major discount electronics retailer throughout the Northeast, was best known during the '70s and '80s for its quirky, manic TV commercials with the tagline, "our prices are INSAAAAAANNE!"

Unfortunately, their bookkeeping was off, too. After going public in 1985, the family-run business began to unravel in 1987 as a huge securities fraud was uncovered. Eddie Antar was charged with conspiracy and racketeering. Sam Antar pleaded guilty, testified against his family, and got off with house arrest. After initially fleeing the country, Eddie Antar eventually stood trial and served seven and a half years in prison.

The fraud case came back into focus on June 27, when CNBC showed a on-air confrontation between Sam and Eddie.

While he has no plans to go Hollywood, Sam Antar does have plenty to say about white-collar crime. He has a website www.whitecollarfraud.com that is intended to raise awareness about white-collar crime. He travels around the country, working to educate the business community on securities fraud. (He doesn't charge for his services.) Antar believes that even in a post-Enron world, the business community still isn't skeptical enough when it comes to accounting.

"I am the scum of the scum of the scum," Antar says. "Redemption doesn't undo my crimes, it doesn't bring those poor victims their pensions back, but I feel I have a responsibility to keep it from happening again and again."

Liz Gunnison