Joe Scarborough
Crime pays if you're wearing a white collar
http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | Crime pays. A federal judge has approved a settlement that would let WorldCom off the hook, for committing the greatest corporate crime in American history. With the help of powerful friends in Washington and on Wall Street, WorldCom bilked American investors out of billions dollars, making Enron look like a good corporate neighbor.
AFTER RIPPING OFF senior citizens and looting working American's retirement accounts, WorldCom declared the largest bankruptcy in the history of the United States. It was a move that ended up costing us all over $180 billion dollars.
How did Washington respond? By awarding the corporate criminals with more and more contracts, including a Pentagon deal to rewire post-war Iraq worth $45 million dollars. And get this, WorldCom's business with the Feds actually increased after they got busted.
It begs the question, "just who in the administration and on Capitol Hill are protecting WorldCom? And why? Is it for campaign contributions? Or for jobs in home districts? Or just because powerful lobbyists are breathing down their necks? Those questions will intensify in the coming weeks because of a senate investigation launched after we raised questions about WorldCom's sweetheart deal with the Pentagon.
Today's news of a settlement that lets WorldCom off the hook for pennies on the dollar will do nothing but prove once again that in the United States of America, crime pays if you're wearing a white collar.
Just ask Enron's Ken Lay or Smith Barney's Jack Grubman, or Citigroup's Sandy Weill or Health South's Richard Scrushy. Instead of being locked behind bars, these corporate titans sit comfortably in their country clubs, knowing they will never be held personally responsible for the billions of dollars they took from hard-working American's retirement accounts.
In my opinion, it's highway robbery, plain and simple. And whether WorldCom's silent defenders --- like it or not
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Former Congressman Joe Scarborough (R-Fla.) hosts “Scarborough Country,” 10 p.m. ET, weeknights on MSNBC. Comment by clicking here.
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