Bastille, be gone

It’s hard to believe that Edgar Bronfman Jr. has just been charged, along with Vivendi executives, with misleading investors. First of all, the $34-billion Seagram-Vivendi merger in question took place in 2000. Surely the statute of limitations has run out long since.

Second, poor Edgar Jr. was not exactly on the inner circle with Jean-Marie Messier, the Vivendi CEO who bought everything in sight except the Arc de Triomphe, which was visible out his office window.

Once he got fed up with Messier, Edgar Jr. worked with other directors to oust the megalomaniac in 2002. Not exactly how you pass the time if you’re busy misleading investors.

Third, Edgar Jr. blew three-quarters of the family fortune on that ill-fated deal. The family’s net worth fell from $8 billion to $2 billion. He’s been trying ever since to redeem himself, so far unsuccessfully, at Warner Music.

Hasn’t he suffered enough?