Perhaps it is a sign of the times. Or, maybe I have not paid attention in the past, but it seems like I am reading about more and more corruption in our industry than ever before. Yes, business is business, and some people are corrupt – period. However new articles are appearing on a regular basis in the trade journals about indictments, arrests, prison sentences handed down. All of these happening in the industry I have been associated with for 35 years, and cannot remember this many illegal activities. For example, just today I read:
“Newton man is sentenced to 3 years in prison for stealing more than $100K from business”
Published: Friday, September 10, 2010, 1:38 PM
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP (Somerset) — A Newton man today was sentenced to three years in prison for taking more than $100,000 from a Somerset County printing business where he worked as the controller. David Hathaway, 51, apologized for his actions and defense lawyer asked Judge Paul Armstrong to give him a suspended sentence for the theft from Toppan Printing Co., a firm located in Franklin Township.
Attorney Drew Hurley insisted his client didn’t take the money for a lavish lifestyle, but to help support his family. They were struggling under debts that mounted when Hathaway was unemployed. “He did so to pay bills, not to go to Atlantic City, not to buy drugs,” Hurley said, adding that his client is bankrupt. “It was aberrant behavior.”

This was on the same page as:
Charges say Frank Russo traded printing business for political contributions
Updated: Thursday, September 09, 2010, 8:28 PM The Plain Dealer
The scheme: Russo traded public business for political contributions, according to prosecutors.
Russo is accused of using his official position, between 2005 and 2007, to funnel nearly $450,000 in county work to a printing company. Damir Blecic is not named, but matches the description of Public Employee 53, an employee in the auditor’s office with an interest in Business 34, described as a printing company located in Garfield Heights.
Critics of the printing transactions have said the work was done at inflated rates, and also noted that the county has its own printing operation. In exchange for the work from the county, according to the charges against Russo, the auditor’s employee contributed an unspecified sum to Russo’s political campaign. The charges also say Russo hired relatives of Public Employee 53 and “made personnel decisions” that benefited them. Those decisions are not spelled out. In addition, the charges say that, on or about May 5, 2006, Russo “caused to be paid” an invoice from the printing company to the auditor’s office for about $10,786.40. Federal prosecutors subpoenaed the printing records in November as part of the public corruption investigation.

I tend to believe we live in times where some will act out of desperation. In the meantime, our industry is getting a tarnished reputation which has nothing to do with us being “tree killers” or “environmental polluters”. We can’t afford this kind of bad press, especially right now…