Book Description
American culture applauds those who will do anything to make it to the top. The past few decades have seen success redefined in terms of more wealth and power than ever before. The deification of top earners, and an acceptance of life without limits, has helped pave the way for the eventual corruption of the corporate system. Corrupted by greed and driven by self-interest, those who had reached the pinnacle levels of success felt justified to venture beyond integrity, forgoing compassion and scruples, in search of profit. They were above the law- that is, until they were caught. Permission to Steal begins much-needed reflection upon the disgraces that have taken place right under our noses. Citing recent examples including Enron, Arthur Andersen, and WorldCom, Newton explores what went wrong, and advocates a universal reassessment of what is considered "good" in corporate America so that we wonrsquo;t again fall victim to corporate thieves.
Amazon.com
"The FBI was ready to take down America's most politically powerful corporation. But there was one thing they didn't count on."
So reads the cover of this high-powered true crime story, an accurate teaser to a bizarre financial scandal with more plot twists than a John Grisham novel. In 1992 the FBI stumbled upon Mark Whitacre, a top executive at the Archer Daniels Midland corporation who was willing to act as a government witness to a vast international price-fixing conspiracy. ADM, which advertises itself as "The Supermarket to the World," processes grains and other farm staples into oils, flours, and fibers for products that fill America's shelves, from Jell-O pudding to StarKist tuna. The company's chairman and chief executive, Dwayne Andreas, was so influential that he introduced Ronald Reagan to Mikhail Gorbachev, and it was his maneuvering that ensured that high fructose corn syrup would replace sugar in most foods (ever wondered why Coke and Pepsi don't taste quite like they used to?). There were two mottoes at ADM: "The competitors are our friends, and the customers are our enemies" and "We know when we're lying." And lie they did. With the help of Whitacre, the FBI made hundreds of tapes and videos of ADM executives making price-fixing deals with their corrivals from Japan, Korea, and Canada, all while drinking coffee and laughing about their crimes. The tapes should have cinched the case, but there was one problem: Their star witness was manipulative, deceitful, and unstable. Nothing was as it seemed, and the investigation into one of the most astounding white-collar crime cases in history had only just begun.
Kurt Eichenwald, an investigative reporter, covered the story for The New York Times and interviewed more than 100 participants in the case. He methodically records the six-year investigation, leaving no plot twist or tape transcript unexplored. While his primary focus is on deconstructing the disturbed Whitacre and revealing the malleability of truth, the portrait of ADM (and even the Justice Department) is damning enough to make anyone a cynic. --Lesley Reed
Book Description
From an award-winning New York Times investigative reporter comes an outrageous story of greed, corruption, and conspiracy--which left the FBI and Justice Department counting on the cooperation of one man . . .
It was one of the FBI's biggest secrets: a senior executive with America's most politically powerful corporation, Archer Daniels Midland, had become a confidential government witness, secretly recording a vast criminal conspiracy spanning five continents. Mark Whitacre, the promising golden boy of ADM, had put his career and family at risk to wear a wire and deceive his friends and colleagues. Using Whitacre and a small team of agents to tap into the secrets at ADM, the FBI discovered the company's scheme to steal millions of dollars from its own customers.
But as the FBI and federal prosecutors closed in on ADM, using stakeouts, wiretaps, and secret recordings of illegal meetings around the world, they suddenly found that everything was not all that it appeared. At the same time Whitacre was cooperating with the Feds while playing the role of loyal company man, he had his own
agenda he kept hidden from everyone around him--his wife, his lawyer, even the FBI agents who had come to trust him with the case they had put their careers on the line for. Whitacre became sucked into his own world of James Bond antics, imperiling the criminal case and creating a web of deceit that left the FBI and prosecutors uncertain where the lies stopped and the truth began.
In this gripping account unfolds one of the most captivating and bizarre tales in the history of the FBI and corporate America. Meticulously researched and richly told by New York Times senior writer Kurt Eichenwald,
The Informant re-creates the drama of the story, beginning with the secret recordings, stakeouts, and interviews with suspects and witnesses to the power struggles within ADM and its board--including the high-profile chairman Dwayne Andreas, F. Ross Johnson, and Brian Mulroney--to the big-gun Washington lawyers hired by ADM and on up through the ranks of the Justice Department to FBI Director Louis Freeh and Attorney General Janet Reno.
A page-turning real-life thriller that features deadpan FBI agents, crooked executives, idealistic lawyers, and shady witnesses with an addiction to intrigue,
The Informant tells an important and compelling story of power and betrayal in America
Customer Reviews:
Gripping narrative of FBI investigation.......2007-08-30
After reading the first few chapters of "The Informant" by Kurt Eichenwald, I could not put this book down. Eichenwald should be commended for maintaining a thrilling narrative that offers incredible insights into corporate crime, the workings of the U.S. judicial system, and the psychology of a disturbed individual.
That person, Mark Whitacre, a former Archer-Daniels-Midland executive, was by all prior accounts a talented rising star at ADM, the politically powerful Fortune 500 food processing company bearing the slogan "Supermarket to the world."
Whitacre was in charge of a billion-dollar business at the company, but decided to become an FBI informant who secretly recorded meetings among ADM and its competitors in which they plotted a multibillion-dollar price-fixing scheme that ensnared several multinational companies.
The FBI at first considered Whitacre a star cooperating witness, but gradually began to worry that its investigation would fall apart as Whitacre began to demonstrate all kinds of erratic behavior (I don't want to give away too much of the story--Eichenwald does a great job of adding new details and twists that are very compelling).
Eichenwald also details all the turf battles and power plays among the FBI, U.S. Attorney's office, and the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust and antifraud divisions.
I only wish there could have been more details about the behind-the-scenes efforts by ADM's lawyers to derail the case, but I'm sure those accounts will never become public. I was also curious about the reaction among ADM's customers, who were getting totally exploited by the company and its "competitors." Great book, overall.
Better than Fiction.......2007-08-07
My review may not be needed - since the "Informant" has already received many positive reviews. However, I do need to echo that the truth is often stranger than ficiton.
The story of "The Informant" could not have been invented through imagination... the author would have believed that the plot was too much of a stretch from reality and would have been unbelievable. Kurt Eichenwald has weaved together a very intelligent and informative read on the dangers of slippery slopes of lying and disception.
Back to the book- I highly recommend "The Informant" to lovers of non-ficition and those who enjoy John Grisham style novels (although Eichenwald style is superiot to Grisham's). You have crime, disception, cheating, and all of the other elements of a great crime novel....just remember that this one actually happened! Clearly a 5 star read.
Eichenwald is great.......2007-02-18
This is the second book I've read by Eichenwald (Conspiracy of Fools being the other) and I thought they were each fantastic.
Could not put it down!! ADDICTIVE!!.......2007-02-07
Well-written. I'm not a business major nor a businessman, but this was an easy read for me. I really loved reading this book. Of particular interest is a scene when FBI agent Hoyt talks to his hard-working, average Joe brother-in-law. In this scene, you will realize how this white collar crime affects the average person, like you and me. His research was incredibly thorough. I can't say enough about this book. It's well-written, thorough, and it's all true. Truth is stranger than fiction.
Like a Grisholm novel...but true.......2007-01-12
I dreaded reading this because it's long and the type is small. However, once I started it, I couldn't put it down. The story is astounding, made more so because it's true. It reads like a Grisholm novel. I remember the story when it happened, and learning the details made it even more fascinating.
Average customer rating:
|
Corporate Investigations
Manufacturer: Lawyers and Judges Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Human Resources & Personnel Management
| Industries & Professions
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Corporate Law
| Business
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
Corporate Law
| Business
| Law
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: 1933264020 |
Book Description
The range of corporate investigations is extremely broad, from accounting financial fraud to executive protection, from shoplifting to international fraud. More than two dozen experts share their investigative techniques to help you navigate this complex field.
Topics include:
FCRA and corporate investigations
Assessing credibility: ADVA technology, voice and stress analysis
Profiling for corporate investigators
Surveillance
Electronic eavesdropping and corporate counterespionage
Voice identification: The aural/spectrographic method
The statement as a crime scene: Low-tech tools for corporate investigations
The art and science of communication during an investigation
Doing business with your experts
The changing role of law enforcement in corporate investigations
The due diligence investigation
Forensic accounting and financial fraud
Environmental business risks: A legal investigator's consultant role
Investigating the sexual harassment case
And much more
Book Description
This classic study of corporate crime in America is now available for the first time the way Sutherland originally wrote it -- with names and case studies of offenders included.
Product Description
Israel, Podgor, Borman and Henning's 2006 Statutory, Documentary and Case Supplement to White Collar Crime, Law and Practice, 2d Edition
Book Description
Overall, the book is designed to promote student appreciation of the interaction in the white collar field of legal doctrines. The material exposes students to how legal transactions involved in a single white collar crime case can require consideration of substantive criminal law, criminal procedure, administrative procedure, corporate law, evidence, civil procedure, sentencing law, and highly specialized regulatory law. The book also allows students to appreciate the influence of administrative policies and the influence of the basic "culture" of white collar criminal practice. Provides a unique combination of traditional materials (cases and statutes) and not-so-traditional materials (e.g., newspaper articles, forms, and practice manuals).
Book Description
This collection explores structural incentives and disincentives to anti-social and unlawful behaviors and the roles of self- regulation, administrative agencies, and civil and criminal sanctions in shaping organizational behavior. Included are articles on organizational crime, the savings and loan industry, insider trading, industrial water pollution, garbage collection, and the nursing home industry.
Book Description
At a cost of $500 billion to American taxpayers, the savings and loan debacle of the 1980s was the worst financial crisis of the twentieth century as well as a crime unparalleled in American history. Yet the vast majority of its perpetrators will never be prosecuted, and those who were have received minimal sentences. In the first in-depth scrutiny of the ways and means of this disaster, this groundbreaking book comes to disturbing conclusions about the deliberate nature of this financial fraud, the political collusion involved, and the leniency of the criminal justice system in dealing with these "Gucci-clad white-collar criminals."
Using material from over one hundred interviews with government officials and industry leaders and recently declassified documents, the authors show how--contrary to previous government and "expert" explanations that chalked the disaster up to business risks gone awry or adverse economic conditions--S&L leaders engaged in deliberate fraud, stealing from their own corporations to speculate on high-risk ventures. Tempted by the insurance net, perpetrators looted their own institutions in a new kind of white-collar crime the authors dub "collective embezzlement."
Big Money Crime also demonstrates how systematic political collusion--not just policy errors--was a critical ingredient in this unprecedented series of frauds. Bringing together statistics from a variety of government agencies, the authors provide a close reading of the track record of prosecutions and sentencing and find that "suite crime" receives much more lenient treatment than "street crime," despite its significantly higher price tag. The book concludes with a number of modest, but no less urgent, policy recommendations to counter the current deregulatory trend and to avert a replay of the S&L debacle in other financial sectors.
FROM THE BOOK:"We built thick walls; we have cameras; we have time clocks on the vaults . . . all these controls were to protect against somebody stealing the cash. Well, you can steal far more money, and take it out the back door. The best way to rob a bank is to own one."--House Committee on Government Operations, 1988
Customer Reviews:
The truth hurts.......2006-02-22
This book was well researched. I bought this book for the purpose of writing a research paper. However, it is an interesting read at the same time, very factual. Another book on this subject I would recommend is "S&L Hell by Kathleen Day
What everyone missed but payed for........1999-09-30
A rigourously detailed, cited, and sad indictment on one of the most significant domestic issues in recent U.S.A. history. Read how the bankers and politicians saw it coming, but instead of prevention, deliberatly increased the magnitude of the crisis to a level of such massive debt, that the American public would be forced to flip the bill instead of the criminals who are at fault.
Average customer rating:
|
Broken Promises: Fraud by Small Business Health Insurers (Northeastern Series on White-Collar and Organizational Crime)
Robert Tillman
Manufacturer: Northeastern
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
General
| Insurance
| Industries & Professions
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Health
| Insurance
| Industries & Professions
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Ethics
| Business Life
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Criminal Law
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
Criminology
| Crime & Criminals
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Criminal Law
| Law
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1555533760 |
Customer Reviews:
Broken Promises..........2001-06-01
A good examination of failure in the USA health market This is a good opportunity to examine market failure in the US health care system. Private insurance schemes are making only very small inroads into universal, free at the point of use state financed welfare systems in Europe. However, I think that most European academics in this field will be alive to the possibility of fraud existing in the health insurance markets - if only because of the awareness raised by John Grisham's best-selling book The Rainmaker, which was published 3 years earlier. A contrast with `The Rainmaker' is not entirely flippant. Broken Promises is introduced with a case study that in some ways mirrors the dealings of Grishams fictitious `Great Benefits' health insurance company. Tillman also writes well and this book may well be considered `an interesting read' by the layperson. Broken Promises is an interesting study of insider health insurance fraud. This book is about white-collar criminals but fundamentally it is also about the conditions which promote their crimes. The author explores the ways in which weak regulatory structures and prevailing market conditions have contributed to the occurrence of insurance frauds. The book analyzes the political and economic environment and demonstrates convincingly how these have `enabled' such fraudulent practices to flourish. He also examines how recent legal and institutional changes have created new demand for insurance but also greater scope for fraud.. Broken Promises is written in six chapters (plus a short conclusion), each around 30 pages in length with reference to numerous case studies. Chapter One describes the structural underpinnings of what Tillman refers to as `the social and political construction' of health insurance fraud. Tillman draws upon documentary evidence to provide numerous examples of the three most prevalent manifestations of fraud: swindles which involve multiple employer welfare relationships, employee leasing schemes, and fictitious labour unions as well as more recent innovations, such as`24-hour plans' and cover offered by some religious organizations. The next 4 chapters discuss numerous case studies involving these different forms of fraud. Chapter 2 discusses fraud resulting from multiple employer welfare arrangements. These arrangements were meant to provide alternative mechanisms for health insurance, but case studies detail what can go wrong, in particular when the trusts funding fails. Chapter 3 examines employee-leasing schemes, which do not, to my knowledge, apply in Europe. This is where small businesses, can take advantages of economies of scale by banding together as a notional `leasing agency' and then `sacking' their staff - on paper - but then hiring them (again on paper) though the leasing firm who then provides health and other employee benefits at reduced rates. The number of US workers involved was around 2.5 million by 1995. It is clear from Tillman's work that a significant number of these leasing agencies had very little, or no, assets with which to fund health care and that `cowboy' operators had moved into the marketplace with disastrous consequences for those insured. Chapter 4 examines frauds involving labour unions and involves description and analysis of what he terms `recombinant fraud' that continually changes in the face of prevailing conditions. This chapter's utilizes a set of related cases in order to track and analyze the processes involved. The fifth chapter examines fraud by companies who claim not to be selling insurance, by claiming to be a religious or a mutual organization rather than an insurance company. Fraud by these forms of organization raise questions for regulators on issues surrounding the definition of insurers and the role of the state in protecting consumers. The final chapter discusses the social and political barriers that are in place, which are hindering a change in legislation to better protect consumers from fraud. Amongst his conclusions Tillman examines the role of the state in regulating the markets providing this core welfare service. The message of the book is clear. The regulation of health insurance, at the time the book was written, was (and may still be) chaotic and the state is failing in its fundamental duty to protect its citizens. There are sections of this book, which cry out for a deeper sociological analysis of risk and the state. For example, in a Focaultian analysis of policy trends in the liberal state the rational individual will wish to become responsible for the self as this will produce the most effective mode of provision for security against risk. Equally the responsible individual will take rational steps to insure against risk in order to be independent rather than dependent upon others. This is backed up by a moral responsibility or duty to the self (Greco, 1993). Here prevention and risk management becomes the responsibility of the individual. Reliance upon the state, even for protection against crime, is not to be encouraged (O'Malley, 1991). However, how can individuals protect themselves against insurance fraud? Individuals are insuring against risk but that insurance is itself becoming a risk. Reliance upon the state is not encouraged but it is now clear that the community can not cope alone with fraudulent insurers. This raises issues regarding an enhanced role for the state, which may then have wider implications for this and other welfare fields. However, this book makes no claims to be a sociological text and the work is well suited for the target audience. In short it is a good exposé and worth a read for anyone interested in this field. ... (
Average customer rating:
|
Current Issues in Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation (Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences)
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Biochemistry
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Microbiology
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Botany
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Genetics
| Evolution
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Soil Science
| Agricultural Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Agricultural Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Microbiology
| Basic Science
| Medicine
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Agricultural Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Biochemistry
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Botany
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Genetics
| Evolution
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Biochemistry
| Chemistry
| Sciences
| New & Used Textbooks
| Stores
| Books
General
| Chemistry
| Sciences
| New & Used Textbooks
| Stores
| Books
All Amazon Upgrade
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Medicine
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Professional & Technical
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Science
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Medicine
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Professional
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Science
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0792343670 |
Book Description
In the 100 years since the legume-Rhizobium symbiotic nitrogen fixation interaction was first described, interest in this field has grown rapidly. The types of studies have been cyclical in nature, involving a cross-section of disciplines. The availability of cheap nitrogenous fertilizers caused much of the biological nitrogen fixation research to become more theoretical in the developed world. The high cost of energy, coupled with environmental concerns and the interest in sustainable agriculture, has stimulated research in symbiotic nitrogen fixation. The development of modern genetic techniques has resulted in interdisciplinary research on plant-microbe interactions controlling nitrogen fixation. This has resulted in a better understanding of environmental factors influencing the nodulation process, chemical signalling between the symbiotic partners and the nature of the specificity between host plant and microsymbiotant.
This volume summarizes the diverse research efforts in biological nitrogen fixation by presenting a collection of papers in the areas of physiology and metabolism, taxonomy and evolution, genetics and ecology.
Books:
- PKI Security Solutions for the Enterprise: Solving HIPAA, E-Paper Act, and Other Compliance Issues
- PowerPoint for Litigators : How to Create Effective Illustrative Aids and Demonstrative Exhibits for Trial, Mediation, Arbitration, and Appeal
- Project Resource Manual (PRM) : The CSI Manual of Practice
- Quick Reference to HIPAA Compliance 2004
- Reinventing the Skyscraper: A Vertical Theory of Urban Design
- Residential Landscape Architecture: Design Process for the Private Residence (2nd Edition)
- Richard Meier Architect, Vol. 4 (1999-2003) (Richard Meier, Architect)
- Silent Theft: The Private Plunder of Our Common Wealth
- St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography
- Structure as Architecture: A Source Book for Architects and Structural Engineers
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Harry Potter Schoolbooks Box Set: From the Library of Hogwarts: Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find T
- A Stroke of Midnight: A Meredith Gentry Novel
- Revolutionary Biology: The New, Gene-Centered View of Life
- Strukturen der Komplexität: Eine Morphologie des Erkennens und Erklärens
- The Safari Companion: A Guide to Watching African Mammals Including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, and
- Balancing Acts: Obligation, Liberation, and Contemporary Christian Conflicts
- Too Big to Miss: An Odelia Grey Mystery
- Cool Restaurants Miami
- The New York World's Fair, 1939/1940: in 155 Photographs by Richard Wurts and Others
- The Morphogenesis Of The Arteries Of The Pelvic Extremity: A Comparative Study of Mammals with Speci
