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The Informant Is Back At Work
theodp writes "Fortune catches up with former ADM exec and whistleblower Mark Whitacre, who talks about watching his life on screen in the dark comedy, The Informant!. Among other things, Whitacre apologizes to Fortune for duping the magazine in a 1995 interview when his bipolar-fueled compulsive lying was in its full glory. Thanks to a Ph.D. he earned from Cornell in nutritional biochemistry, and an understanding CEO who was involved in prison ministry, Whitacre is now COO of Cypress Systems, where he's been working since spending nine years in prison for embezzlement. And yes, his wife really did stand by him through the wild ride."
I guess they really have managed to get the prison system to be more about "reforming" inmates, as opposed to simply "incarcerating" them.
Everything that I've read about the U.S. penal system indicates the exact opposite. Things have been getting much worse for people in U.S. prisons over the last 20 years, and the trend continues. His is the exceptional case. Most prisoners can't afford to get PhDs. I wonder where he got the money and found the time for education like that (a PhD no less!); most prison jobs pay slavery wages.
Amazing that there were podcasts NINE years ago.
You are projecting your envy of rich people, whom you consider superior to yourself, onto others. Some people think our system is flawed because reaching the top requires a callous disregard for others. Even if you don't seriously consider the idea of them being right, you should at least seriously consider the idea that people who say this genuinely believe it.
He helped the FBI to expose the price-fixing scheme of his company and served his time. Assuming someone is inspecting his work, what more do you want from the guy?
Maybe repay the people he ripped off? I know. Completely unreasonable isn't it.
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