Theory: Audit, or Investigation, of Appointed People
(This article is # 36 in a series on Sick Organizations that was planned and started prior to the first article in the series being published on 14 Sept 2011. This article was written for the public of the world in general and not about any specific person or any specific illegal activity. Anyone who would claim it is about them would be wrong and also have to be nuts to admit he/ she was an appointed crook and claim the article was about him/ her. People identify themselves to others as appointed crooks by their actions with public business and money/ property; generalized writings as this should be no direct threat to the guilty anywhere, but informative to both appointed crooks and the public everywhere. See article: This Blog: Postings ) Adrian R. Lawler, Ph.D.
People are appointed, either politically or on merit, or both, to positions of power in various organizations around the world. We usually associate political/ merit appointments to government, university, religion, and corporation positions. In such positions they have power over people and easy access to organization money, property, power, goals/ secrets, and decisions affecting people, property, and money.
Some appointed people do their jobs well, serve the public/ customers as they are supposed to do, and do not steal/ scam/ use power wrongly in their jobs. However, there is an unknown percentage of appointed people who take advantage of their usually secure political position to steal, run various scams, or use their power in wrong ways. Since a lot of instances are covered up, and never reported to/ recorded by law authorities, we have no real idea of the percentage of appointed people that are actually crooks. From my experiences and listening to others I expect that at least 50 % of the appointed people around the world have used their powers incorrectly/ illegally either for/ against another person or in some sort of scam to benefit themselves or relatives/ friends/ politicians.
Their appointed power is used against others to eliminate competition to their "greatness," those that are against their actions, those they do not like, those that know too much, etc. Appointed power is used for others in many ways: hiring, support, favor, endorsement, publicity, awarding grants and contracts, various deals, gifts, etc. The wrong use of public money can range from the outright direct theft of public money to elaborate sweetheart deals where the originator receives a kick-back (money, sex, property, etc.) for transfer of money, property, land, etc. to another. In some countries this culture is so firmly entrenched that it is a daily way of life. The schemes may go on for years and nothing is done about it by the authorities (they too may be involved).
Usually the crooked appointed people are left alone to do their damage because the parent agency/ higher authority does not want to find/ hear anything wrong on their watch or to admit they appointed the wrong person/ made a mistake, or they appointed a crook, or they like/ cooperate/ benefit in what he is doing. Scammers and thieves deny, honest people just tell the truth. Crooked politically-appointed people and crooked politicians protect each other in a mutual admiration society/ mutual scam society that feeds off the public (taxpayers, stockholders). The public literally has the foxes guarding the henhouses all around the world. The crooked politically-appointed and the crooked politicians are closely tied together and thus protect each other. So those with high political connections generally get off scott free, or are allowed to retire (or "fade away"), if they are caught in any wrongdoing (so they won't expose their political partners). In some countries they are executed if caught (so they cannot talk or embarass those in power, or to stop the investigation and cover up the rest of the network taking public funds). Some will retire and keep the money and stuff they have stolen. It appears that legal practices/ laws designed by politicians who try to get the best deals for themselves allow crooked appointed officials to rip the public off around the world at their pleasure and nothing much is done about it. (For one example in world, see Sun Herald article, http://www.sunherald.com/2012/10/28/4270516/officials-to-call-for-new-laws.html#disqus_thread )
Sometimes an appointed person is replaced/ retired if he becomes too obvious in his illegal actions or too arrogant with others. Many complaints may finally lead to some action by authorities. Authorities may also cut the caught offending appointed person loose before they also are painted as crooks. However, authorities may appoint another of their buddies (who has not yet been exposed as a crook) to take over from the previous crook, and their scams may (or may not) continue on as before. And the exposed crook may then be rewarded for doing things well for years and quietly agreeing to his "retirement" by getting "consulting" or "part time" jobs in the future from the organization he just left, or other organizations. And the scams continue on and on ..............
They will generally laugh at the efforts of those who would try to "get rid of them," because unless there is jail time involved, they know they have the power and money behind them and not many can touch them. Some, when investigated (some are "investigated" by their fellow crooks at other agencies), are so confident in their political protection they act like nothing is wrong, and go about their appointed job as usual. They sometimes know what is going to happen (political decision by those higher up) shortly after they have been found out. They also know they can play their scams whether or not they are present on the grounds of the agency in question.
This type of people do not think they have done anything wrong (they have little or no conscience). They say they work hard, "deserve," and are entitled to any extra benefits they can get. They also see themselves as "doing good" by providing for their friends and family. When finally "caught" in their actions and making the public mad, they usually retire fairly gracefully, laughing all the way. Even after being "retired" they can still get more money, at the same or a different organization, by being a "consultant" or a "part time" contractor. In the United States, for example, they usually do not fear any of us, or our complaints; they may fear a little jail time at one of the country-club jails for white-collar crooks.
These appointed people doing illegal actions are generally very arrogant people who do not like to be questioned in any way by those they consider inferior. And I guess they have a right to be arrogant -- they know they are protected all the way to the top. (The longer higher officials refrain from saying anything about the problem, the more one should suspect they are trying to cover-up the problem and the more one might suspect they too are involved.) They are rarely replaced unless they mess up really badly, like lose control of themselves and show big bosses they cannot control even themselves (show anger/ violence or have a hissy fit, or get too greedy, too arrogant, too power hungry, or too obvious in their scams, etc.) or cannot follow orders or embarass/ expose their bosses. They usually rule the workers by intimidation and threat rather than by guidance and inspiration. The main goals of business and government are to keep the peons under control and working as cheaply as possible, and "their" people in positions of power with easy access to public money.
Sometimes appointed people are women who appear to have bigger balls than an elephant. They hide behind being a woman to take their evil to others and to lessen attacks on themselves. How can any male that loves and respects his mother attack or fight back against a woman? Some sick organizations around the world realize that and put pushy arrogant aggressive nasty females in power positions where they "eat up"/ destroy people like cream puffs, and do about anything they want. Females are even less likely to be investigated or charged with doing anything wrong, so some that know that just do about anything they want. A good example of this is divorce court in the United States where motherhood is usually equated to sainthood and women get away with doing or saying just about anything to gain advantage in custody or settlement, or in trying to destroy the reputation of an ex through false charges of abuse (a common practice) .
Some agency investigations of appointed people can be nothing more than a joke. One got the wrong target (name confusion?), and then called everyone in the building as a witness except the complainer, thereby exposing the complainer (on purpose ?) to all the staff and to further persecution. The investigators accused the complainer of having a vendetta against the correct accused person, when it was the opposite. The powers that be twisted things around to make out like the whistleblower was the bad guy. This is a common action of sick organizations. The message was sent that they were not going to investigate the corrupt one, and the complainer better shut up. Sometimes investigating agencies will not investigate unless the illegal use of public funds exceeds a certain minimum (unknown minimum, $50,000 (?), $100,000 (?), or more (?)). Do not assume that if they find something illegal that something will be done to the guilty as a punishment. Some law enforcement agencies in the world only enforce the law against poor, or not politically-connected, people. Many times the guilty are rewarded by their political partners in their activities. Politics trumps law and science and truth, sex trumps politics, money trumps everything.
In investigations competition may lead to more truth, and more justice. For example, a reluctant local or higher agency may be stimulated into action (they can't show us up as incompetent, or crooked....) by an investigation by a higher agency. Or a local or higher agency may be stimulated into action by a good investigative newspaper, media group, blogger, or public outcry. Conversely, if a higher agency declines to investigate and passes on the investigation to a lower agency, the lower agency may then be more likely to cover up the corruption going on. When/ if the public outcry and anger swells enough to "break the dam" of dirty politics, fear, and intimidation that keep the peons quiet, justice/ truth may finally be sought.
There is a down side to not investigating quickly for the scammers involved. The longer the investigation goes on the more people get involved that get mad and the more digging is done to expose more and more branches of corruption that are tied into the original organization, and the greater the chances that something will be done to punish the crooks. Doing nothing may cause the crooks to eventually "lose an arm or a leg, rather than just the little finger." So it is best for the people being investigated, and their political friends, that the investigation goes quickly, or not at all.
Also, once an appointed person has wrongly used power to his benefit, and the public becomes aware of this, then that person, as a representative of the organization (and the parent organization) is no longer believed, or respected as one of their leaders, and becomes the subject of bad jokes and anger. The person becomes useless, and a burden, to the organizations in question. If the person is not punished for his wrongs, and made to make things right again, he should be replaced ASAP to potentially regain organization credibility. Again, it is best for the sick organizations involved to act quickly to correct the wrongs to minimize damage to credibility, or quickly "retire" the person caught, and keep the public uproar at a minimum.
If one has warned authorities of a problem and they do nothing and cover it up, then one has more information to use in the fight, and to protect himself in the future.
If you reported a prior illegal activity and the authorities did nothing then, but now they appear to be doing something about it, you cannot say "See, I told you so." Then you would show up the incompetence or past politics of the investigating agencies and you'd be a target of their wrath for making them look bad. No, you must be quiet and must quietly bask in your knowing, along with maybe a few others, that you were right.
To those around the world who would complain about/ report an illegal action--- THEY WILL INVESTIGATE YOU FIRST. If nothing else, they want to find out how credible you are, how much you know, what proof you have, your criminal record, what others think of you, who your friends are that may think the same way, etc. They may or may not even investigate the corrupt one; they may demand and destroy your proof, especially if it is property of the sick organization. YOU are the one upsetting the political/ money flow in this case. YOU are the danger to those supposed to serve the public but are actually parasites on the public. YOU are a threat to their sweet scam. THEY have the power and public money at their disposal. THEY may even make all the evidence and records disappear and then just walk away with what they took. In some cases everyone but the public gets use of public money. YOU will be investigated, questioned, followed, spied upon, harassed, slandered, threatened, set up/ framed, possibly fired, and maybe much more. YOU may be driven to drink, depression, being a hermit, and trusting very few. Few, if any, will stand with you, and some will betray and desert you. The good guy wanting things to be done right is now persecuted for questioning or slowing down their scams or exposing some corruption. Forget threats from other countries, worry about what your own people/ politicians are doing to you, your money, your food, and your home daily in your country (in the United States think: Great Recession losses, home losses, contaminated food/ drugs, and many other examples).
Those who would complain must be very careful. For example, in this area (Mississippi Code 97-35-47) it is unlawful "to report a crime or any element of a crime to any law enforcement or any officer of any court, by any means, knowing that such report is false." A violation includes up to a year in jail, one thousand dollars, or both, PLUS costs of investigation of the falsely reported crime, PLUS costs of prosecution of someone convicted under this section. Some places love to prosecute the whistleblower rather than the crook.
The morals of the United States, for example, have gotten so bad, in my opinion, that the once great USA of my youth appears to be becoming a third rate nation of scammers and thieves and parasites and drug users. It is no wonder some other countries thumb their noses at us, and outpace us in many fields and stats now. Has anyone causing the Great Recession been forced to give back what they took, or sentenced to a day in jail?
There is very little investigative/ complete reporting by the media anymore, especially in the cities where the crimes are taking place, probably due to the potential of loss of advertising revenue, and political pressure. Our human society today in all countries of the world will throw the book at someone who steals a loaf of bread to eat, but usually does little to the crooks who steal millions from the public.
The smart guilty appointed people around the world will blow off the general thoughts in this article as not bothersome to them because they are protected. Their being "bothered" by this article could be taken as an indication by the public that they are guilty, which they do not want to admit. They do not want any actions to call attention to other things they are doing. Most guilty will just disregard these thoughts, not call attention to themselves, and just go about their business as if their political protection will last forever. And, for some, it does.
We need to stop rewarding the crooks and praise the workers doing their jobs under very great stress. We need to regain our moral compass as humans and do things the right way. We need world organizations run on merit advances rather than politics. We need better laws to prevent / punish corruption. We need more honest politicians, leaders, investigators, law makers, law enforcers, judges, taxpayers, etc. throughout the world to get each country back on track, and moving towards the top. We need to compete on being the best, not the worse.
Adrian R. Lawler, Ph.D. , (C) 2012 --
Thanks to Steve L. Shepard for making suggestions to improve this article.
Some of Lawler's Laws:
The more people brought into an investigation, the greater the chance something will be done. Some will be mad and protect themselves. Some guilty may also cut a deal to lessen their punishment.
The longer an investigation goes on, the greater the chance of more discoveries, which may put the crooks away.
The longer higher powers put off doing right due to an investigation, the greater the chances more corruption will be exposed, and the greater the chances the higher powers will also be labelled as corrupt.
