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It Only Cost a Dime…

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I saw an Internet story about a sixty-eight year-old man who recently lost his job at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage for a crime he committed almost fifty years ago.

Back in 1963, Richard Eggers used a cardboard cutout of a dime in washing machine at a Laundromat. Apparently, he got caught and was convicted. The story I read said that Eggers called the escapade a ‘stupid stunt,’ and isn’t happy he got fired.

Making a long story a little shorter, the gist of the article reported that in May of 2011 and February of this year, new federal banking employment guidelines went into effect. The more stringent procedures were meant to weed out workers who were guilty of transactional crimes…identity theft, money laundering, breech of trust or dishonesty.

In the past, before the new regulations, banks construed federal rules to exclude misdemeanor crimes.

But what has happened in today’s environment is that financial institutions are afraid of penalties that might be levied by the FDIC. So, Richard Eggers was fired from his job over a fifty-year-old petty theft.

There is a waiver process that employee’s can follow to show they’re still suitable to work in a financial institution – however, one of the qualifications is that the applicant can never have spent a day in jail. Mr. Eggers served two days in jail and doesn’t qualify.

Mr. Eggers is learning a tough lesson.

It’s a lesson that parents everywhere should be telling their children. It’s a lesson that employers should be sharing with those they’ve hired. It’s a lesson for everyone. Let’s take a closer look. 

Even back in 1963, a dime wasn’t a lot of money. You could buy a candy bar with a dime. If you had three dimes, you could get a gallon of gas. So, the fact Mr. Eggers tried to use a fake dime in a washing machine was a petty crime, even back then.

But, the lesson to be learned is that we don’t know what the future will hold. Who would have predicted the vast advances that have been made in technology where banking would be done from your own home? Or, in 1963 who would have believe it, if you’d said there would be machines where you’d stick a piece of plastic inside, you could get money in return? No one. No one could have predicted how society would handle their money today. No one could predict the huge issues the world is facing due to identity theft and the like.

But one thing that does remain constant is that everyone should follow the law. While I am empathetic to Mr. Egger’s plight, I’m not sympathetic. I don’t know what prompted him to stick a cardboard dime in a coin-operated washing machine, but whatever the circumstances, he was breaking the law. He knew what he was doing was wrong.

With that said, if I’d been the police officer to respond to that call back in 1963, I probably would have given him a stern lecture about right and wrong, and sent him on his way. I’d love to know the full story of the dime in the washing machine –  my cynical mind tells me there was probably more to the story.

But, is it possible that those ‘common sense’ allowances made in those bygone years, helped to create an atmosphere where, people didn’t respect the law as much? Do you think that a teenager back in the early 1950′s who got caught shoplifting a dollar pair of sunglasses and then was only given a warning, might have figured nothing happened the first time, so why not try it again?

Today’s consumers are paying for those early ‘warnings’ given to thieves. Shoplifting is now an organized crime with crews of crooks going into stores and clearing merchandise completely off the shelves. In the 1970′s and 1980′s many stores started prosecuting shoplifters because the merchants were losing too much money. But although great strides have been made, the shoplifting genie is out of the bottle, and retailers are struggling to put it back. But I digress…

The bottom line is this: There is no way to predict how your actions today might affect you down the line. Look at people who lose their jobs over pictures posted on Facebook or other social media. 

The best course of action is to do the right thing and don’t intentionally do something you know is wrong or risky behavior…because the ‘dime’ cost of a reckless action might balloon into a million-dollar blunder fifty years from now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until next time,

KMA367 

 

 

 

Third Time’s a Charm

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This is the third time I’ve written today’s blog. No, there wasn’t a computer snafu. I’ve had trouble with content. Here’s the deal…

The first post I wrote I was writing about Facebook and whether or not the social media site was on its way out. It was a good post, citing some of the recent problems with the company and Facebook page formatting changes that I think…suck. I was quite blunt. The only thing that worried me was that Facebook might come after me – or heaven forbid – cut me off for being rebellious. I scrapped that post.

My second attempt at a blog for today led me to write one of my cleverest works yet. It was entertaining, crafty, and funny. So where is it?

Because the blog post involved my husband I thought I should run it by him before posting. Truth be told, I knew he might have some issues with it and I was right. It was just a tad bit too revealing about our personal life…him in particular. He put the kibosh on that post this morning. It’s really a shame. It was darn good writing – if I do say so myself.

So, here we are with my third post, and I’m cheating. I’m doing a reminder that I currently have a contest going on my website where you can win a fabulous prize if you answer a question about my book.

I’m going to try to insert the link to the Code 7 page where the contest info is listed on my website, but I am having some trouble with my blog site. Not enough so I can’t post, but if you can’t access it from this page, copy and paste the link and it should work. If not, go to www.Kathy Bennett.com and click on the Code 7 page.

http://kathybennett.com/code7.aspx

So that’s it. Short – sweet – and a third time treat!

Until next time,

KMA 367

WHY COPS ARE PARTIAL TO, “NO COMMENT”

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I’ve been a Los Angeles Police Officer for more than twenty years.  I’d wanted to be, not just any cop, but an LAPD officer from the time I was twelve.  Wearing the badge and uniform of the LAPD was a dream – and one, quite frankly, I wasn’t sure I’d achieve.  I’m not the biggest, strongest, or even a remotely athletic female.  But what I do possess is a strong determination.  A trait my husband likes to call my stubborn streak.  That resilience served me well in my Academy training where my physical endurance was put to the test daily.

Another quality I’m blessed with, is a strong sense of opinion.  I’ve got views on almost everything; and depending on how well I know you, you might hear some of them.  But one thing I hadn’t considered in becoming an officer, nor was I prepared for in starting my career, was the way I’d have to censor my opinions.

Oh, I’d expected that, when I was in uniform, I’d have to put aside my personal beliefs when dealing with the public.  But what about when I’m off-duty?  It seems reasonable I should be able to talk to friends, neighbors and say whatever the heck I’d like, right?  Hold that thought for a minute.

I bet many of you belong to social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook or some other place where people get online and ‘chat’.   In addition to posting your progress in building farms, slaying other Mafias, or conquering new frontiers, many of you will post comments about causes you support or groups you belong to, or just an opinion about the state of the world.   And most of you don’t give it another thought.

I think we’ve all seen unfortunate examples of someone posting a flaming comment via e-mail that was accidently sent to a whole bunch of people rather than the intended receiver.  I think most writers are savvy enough not to trash talk agents, editors and other writers in a public forum.  But if you DID choose to make an opinionated comment, what would be the worst that could happen?  You’d never get published by that house, or sign a contract with your dream agent?

But as a police officer, let’s say that I made a strong statement on a social networking site about the Pittsburg Steelers – a recent hot topic around the country.  Then, let’s say, in the scope of my duties as an LAPD officer, I go to work the next day and get involved in a situation where I wind up arresting a Pittsburg Steeler.  Do you think my comments on the social networking site won’t be brought to the public for their scrutiny?   Those comments will be made public, likely via the media who will put their own ‘spin’ on my post in order to garner viewers.   Do you see how an ‘innocent’ comment online, for the world to see, could become a strong piece of evidence either for or against me?   Do you think my online comments wouldn’t become part of any subsequent investigation?  Think about those questions if the situation were more serious than a simple arrest.

For several years, experts have been warning ‘young people’ to be careful what they publish online because they never know when a future employer will be looking online for insight into a future employee – and it’s good advice.

Recently, police officers have been warned by their unions to be careful about their online postings because you never know how those comments, photos, or opinions may be perceived at a later date…and for a cop, the results of a careless word could be a career and financial disaster.

Right now, I have to think very carefully when I’m online about what I say and how I say it.  When I retire, I’ll be able to be more free with my opinions.  But until that time, when it comes to the Pittsburg Steelers, or any other political, social, or media-worthy issues, I’ve got one thing to say…No Comment!