SPECIAL REPORT - Cheap cigars, politics and the Volcker Rule

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In mid-January, a who's who of Wall Street gathered to hear Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman whose role in the White House seemed at best unclear.

As the members of the Economic Club of New York tucked into their wild mushroom bisque and basil roasted chicken at the ornate Grand Hyatt ballroom in Midtown Manhattan, Volcker, 82, warned them against post-crisis complacency.