Slashdot Mirror
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."
His penis is HUGE.
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.
There isn't anything wrong with that. The man served his time, and he's a productive member of society again. The comments for this story are, unfortunately, going to be spearheaded by individuals who don't have the talents to serve as an effective executive in the first place. Thus, we get to read a hundred different spins on the "but he committed a crime" theme, all fueled by basic jealousy. Interestingly, this is the same crowd that seems to have no problem celebrating Kevin Mitnick's turnaround and subsequent success.
Yes I am a Loser. People like you remind me of it all the time. You are wrong however in stating (or implying) that your opinion is in the minority. You are also wrong by stating that I am jealous. I'm more interested in why people like yourself will call me a Loser and treat me like shit. I don't really care if you think it's OK that criminals should be given good paying jobs. I'm more interested in knowing why people like you think that criminals should be given good paying jobs over honest people who can have the personality traits of honesty. Every large company will spend thousands of dollars making sure they hire the right people. They make sure that people don't smoke marijuana for example, and they check their Facebook accounts to find out what their sexual practices are, who there friends are etc. It amazes me that out of all the millions of people to choose from, criminals tend to be the ones who are chosen for the high paying leadership roles, and yet leaders who show their leadership by not stealing or submitting to peer pressure often get terminated from jobs as trouble-makers or people who are not "team players".
I know what your response is going to be; "I never said that...". and "You don't know me...". Yes I know you. I've been dealing with people like you all my life. You think that people who find something wrong with criminals and cheaters are "jealous". You spin things to make people of your own ilk look good. You get up-modded for your attitude and your behavior on forums like Slashdot, and in the real world people like you get promotions and pay raises.
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.
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer