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UNMASKING THE
P
EOPLE
cornmit crimes within the
range of tbeir opportunity. Bank·
ers rarely rob banks. But bankers
have embezzled bank funds.
An armed robber wouJd steal fcom a
bank by violence. A banker or account·
ant would do it by intrigue.
But one is as much a crime as the
othec. And escalating white-coJJar crime
reveaJs social corrosion even more than
crimes of vioJence.
It
is a yardstick of
personal integrity - a thecmometer of
national moral libre.
The Disaster of
White-Collar Crime
White-collac crime
is
a massive prob–
lem - morally and monetarily.
The cost of white-collar crime - em–
bezzlement, stock manipulation, bribery,
tax frauds, theft from business, con–
sumer fraud, and the like - dwarfs all
crimes of violence.
White-collar wockers steal twice as
much from thei r employers as profes–
sional criminals steal.
T he common thief usually steals a
person's money and leaves. An embez–
zler may reach into a family and destroy
their equity, bankrupt a whole firm or
render valueless tbe stock of a
corporation.
White-collar criminals are often
college educated, supposedly adhering
to better values than the majority. T heir
jobs are usually h igher paying, and
lt is cri mes of vio–
lence - murder, armed
robbery, burglary–
that people most fear.
But the crime of the
respected white-collar
criminal goes practically
unrecorded in news
headlines. This is the
crime that reveals how
national character has
broken down.
by
Jer ry Flurry
their opportunities for crime are greater.
They are given
greatu
responsibility
than the average citizen and are more
trusted. They form a large segment of
our leadership, and as the leadership
goes, so
goes
the nation.
For most white-collar criminals, their
illegal actions are merely part of the
day's activities.
In
one day
a white-collar criminal
may bribe a policeman, entertain his
wife at the company's expense, receive a
TV in a business kickback, bribe a
building inspector, cheat on his income
tax, print a misleading ad, steal an of–
fice desk for his personal use, juggle the
company's books for personal gain and
tell his wife to forget the maid's social
security tax.
If
prosecuted, he could get 33 years
in jail and be fined $26,000 dollars. Yet
he may
be
a profoundly respected and
admired pillar in bis community! To be
accused of being a criminal would fill
him with righteous indignation! Be–
cause to this man it's just "good busi–
ness" and "everybody does it'' - which
all too often is painfully true.
"Executive'' Crime aod
Bankruptcy
Thieves in white collars steal
more
than $5,000,000 in cash and merchan–
dise every working day. This causes an
estimated 30 percent of all business
failures!
More than 50 U. S. banks each dec–
ade are closed because of embezzlement.
It
cost banks $17 million in 1969, al–
most
TWICE
as much as the losses from
robbers and burglars!
Company after company is experienc–
ing a serious drain of profi.ts. Accord–
ing to authorities
more than 60 percent
is clttribtlled to the supervisory and exec–
lllive personneJ
.'
Five billion was stolen from U. S.
businesses last year. Many busioesses are
literally stolen out of existeoce. Forty
percent of all inventory shortages was
duc to cmployee dishonesty.
Whi le a shoplifter steals an average
$17
a year from stores, an interoal thief