Although Jeff did not want to reveal too much personal information, he responded to questions from Professor Schrenkler’s questionnaire on ethics. His answers follow:

Ethical Development: 

1. Do you feel you had/have a good understanding of your core values? How did those core values guide your decisions while on the job?

I do not believe I had a sense of my core values at the time I committed my crime. I had been raised with values, but they were not “core” in that they did not pervade every aspect of my life. While on the job I used values that were what I thought the accepted values in business. These were values I had seen my supervisors use and seen other people use on me over the course of my professional life.

2. What was the most important aspect of a career in business for you? (bottom line, wealth challenge, etc…) What motivated you the most while working for your company?

For me the most important aspect was wealth. I was motivated by getting a better role within the company or getting a better job outside the company.

3. Who do you think is responsible for the ethics of a company?

I think the leaders of a company are responsible for the ethics of a company. If the leaders are the Board, officers, upper management or whatever, it’s the people who make the decisions. However, every person is responsible for their own ethical behavior. If your morals differ from what you see practiced around you, you need to probably find another job.

Ethical Decision Making:

4. Did you have a written code of ethics at your company? If so, did you base your decisions around those codes?

I do not recall a written code of ethics at the company when I committed my crime. In my opinion I saw a lot of unethical behavior as the norm.

5. Did you believe that your business decisions followed your particular company’s core mission, vision, and values? Explain.

To answer that, I would have to know what my company’s mission was. I suppose it was to provide good customer service, and shareholder value. I was trying to earn a higher yield for my company, but I invested in something that was outside the investment policy. I suppose I could argue that I was making decisions that fit with the mission, but the decisions did not fit with my values. I should have seen that and reevaluated if I was working for the right company.

6. Did you think you should have been held to a higher ethical standard, given that you were in a position of great power? Explain.

The prosecution certainly felt I should be held to a higher standard. I felt more like I was the scapegoat for people who had more power that failed in their ethical duties. It’s easy to blame someone lower than you, but it takes some moral fortitude to take responsibility for the errors of someone you supervise. I made mistakes, but it was impossible to make them completely on my own. Yet, that’s how it was painted by the company and the prosecution.

7. Do you feel your employees were equipped to recognize and resolve ethical dilemmas? Explain.

In the company I worked for employees and supervisors were not equipped to resolve ethical dilemmas. That seemed to be something reserved for Human Resources and I don’t think they always resolved things ethically. Resolution to them was to avoid litigation.

Corporate Environment:

8. Please explain the corporate culture within your company during your involvement.

In my opinion the corporate culture was convoluted. Regularly during audits I recall people hiding information from auditors and only providing to the auditors was they specifically requested. I recall issues that involved employees that I supervised being handled with very little concern or compassion for the employees, again, with the objective being to avoid any possible litigation. I saw bad decisions being made that were explained away by upper management and bad decisions by lower level management punished with termination or with the common practice of making the job so miserable the employee would quit.

9. Is it possible to have a very aggressive corporate culture, yet foster an ethical environment?

First, a company has to define what ethics, integrity, honesty, etc are. If you say that you won’t break any laws, then I would say that your ethics are the bare minimum. I’ve seen a lot of unethical behavior that was legal. If you say that your ethical standards are to follow the golden rule, Do business the way you would want others to do business, your company will probably fail. Unfortunately, the best check and balance on capitalism is morality. Laws can only do so much to prevent unethical business practices. I would say that you cannot have a “very aggressive” corporate culture and foster an ethical environment. This is not to say that you cannot have a profitable company without ethics.

Reflection/Advice/Future:

10. If you could choose to redo anything, what would it be?

I would have pursued the right thing rather than pursue money, success and a higher paying job.

11. Do you think anything good came out of this?

I suppose that there is some good that has happened. Unfortunately, I think there was a lot more pain and suffering when the government got involved. This could have been resolved with a lot less pain and financial burden for all of the parties.

12. What is your biggest regret?

That I did not act with integrity and honesty in my business dealings right from the start.

13. Do you plan on taking on the business world once again when you are released? If so, do you think you will encounter any roadblocks getting back into the business world? Explain.

I do plan to go back into the business world, but with different goals. My primary goal will be to act with integrity and honesty regardless of the outcome. I know that there will be roadblocks. The business world will always view me with skepticism. That’s part of the punishment. You have to accept that people are biased and prejudiced against you. The hope is that you can change that by your actions.

14. What advice would you give to a business student about to embark on their chosen career path?

If you can be honest, think outside yourself and be willing to accept not always getting / what you want, your reputation will be much stronger as you progress through life. I believe this is an investment and that you will achieve to higher aspirations by applying some integrity into your business life.

15. How do you feel about a business class questioning you on your ethics?

I think it’s good to get some real world perspective. I had an ethics class in college and we didn’t discuss anything about honesty, humility and selfishness. It simply told us to consider all impacted parties of a decision. Well, that leaves the decision open to all sorts of justifications. I never thought I would commit a crime. I didn’t think I was committing a crime when I was doing what I did. The problem was I did not follow my values. At the time I was not willing to accept that I had to be humble, that I was making enough and didn’t need more money. Everyone is on the precipice of committing a crime. Application of solid values is the only thing that will prevent it.

The post Corporate Treasurer Responds to Ethics Questions appeared first on Prison News Blog.

Ethical Development:

1. Do you feel you had/have a good understanding of your core values? How did those core values guide your decisions while on the job? 

As a physician, my core values are to cure when I can, to otherwise relieve functional deficits, and to first of all do no harm guided my conduct while on the job.

2. What was the most important aspect of a career in business for you? (bottom line, wealth, challenge, etc…) What motivated you the most while working for your company?

 The most important aspects of a medical practice for me was both patient satisfaction, personal lifestyle/comfort and profitability.

3. Who do you think is responsible for the ethics of a company? 

I think a company should establish broad and general ethical standards for its directors, officers and employees. I believe each individual is responsible for ethical conduct.

Ethical Decision Making:

4. Did you have a written code of ethics at your company? If so, did  you base your decisions around those codes?

 I did not have a written code of ethics at my company.

5. Did you believe that your decisions followed your particular company’s core mission, vision, and values? Explain.

 I believe my business decisions followed my company’s core mission, vision and values (see #1 above).

6. Did you think you should have been held to a higher ethical standard, given that you were in a position of great power? Explain.

 I think licensed and certified experts should be held to a higher ethical standard because they are in positions of greater power. Ethical conduct and its culture thereof should flow from the top to the bottom.

7. Do you feel your employees were equipped to recognize and resolve ethical dilemmas? Explain.

My employees initiated and propagated the unethical conduct in a clandestine manner. Although they should have known better, greed seems to have clouded their judgment.

Corporate Environment:

8. Please explain the corporate culture within your company during your involvement.

During my involvement, the corporate culture within my company emphasized patient satisfaction, mutual respect and profitability.

9. Is it possible to have a very aggressive corporate culture, yet foster an ethical environment?

Although it is possible to have a very aggressive corporate culture and to simultaneously foster an ethical environment, aggressive cultures ten to trample ethical boundaries.

Reflection / Advice / Future:

10. If you could choose to redo anything, what would it be?

If I could choose to redo things, I would avoid employment of a management company until I have completed a thorough background investigation of the people involved.

11. Do you think anything good came out of this?

As a result of my period of incarceration, I developed a high level of skill in the craft of screenplay writing. Furthermore, I have been able to identify characteristics in other people to avoid.

12. What is your biggest regret?

My biggest regret is that I did not focus all my attention on a medical sub-specialty, so that I would have a higher rank in the field of medicine.

13. Do you plan on taking on the business world once again when you are released? If so, do you think you will encounter any roadblocks getting back into the business world? Explain.

I plan to rekindle my career in medicine upon release. I am positive that my conviction on charges of aiding and abetting health insurance fraud will cause me to encounter roadblocks. The federal government has already notified me that I am barred from billing state or federal heath insurance programs. I surrendered my medical license in August 2007, and I will be able to apply for its reinstatement after August 2009, but this process can take 3-6 months of professional rehabilitation.

14. What advice would you give to a business student about to embark on their chosen career path?

I advise any student about to embark on a chosen career path to diligently develop a strong foundation and persevere in building on that foundation over time. Don’t rush!

15. How do you feel about a business class questioning you on your ethics?

I believe that ethics play a very important role in all businesses, so Business Ethics classes should be required curriculum.

The post Physician Responds to Ethics Questions appeared first on Prison News Blog.

What motivated the decisions that led those people who previously held positions of privilege and power into the clutches of the criminal justice system? For many, an inattention to an ethical code by which they professed to live began a slide into criminality. Others cited outside forces that influenced their decisions. In an effort to provide perspective from such prisoners for those who studied ethics, I spoke with former executives who served time for white collar crimes. When they agreed, I conducted more in-depth interviews and wrote their stories.

I told one such prisoner, whom I referred to as Robert, about this project on which I was working for Professor Jana Schrenkler. Professor Schrenkler taught ethics to students at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Robert agreed to respond to her questions honestly on condition that I masked his identity. Robert’s case had attracted attention from the national business media and he didn’t want to confront those negative stories again. With hopes that his responses could provide some insight into the mind of a former CEO, I sat with Robert for several hours.

Robert had a patrician’s bearing and demeanor. He was lean, stood well over six-feet tall, and had a full head of white hair. His appearance suggested a lifelong devotion to asceticism and discipline. Each morning at six o’clock after the prison guards unlocked the housing units, I saw Robert heading out to begin his brisk walk around the track. At 64, he seemed vibrant and in excellent health.

After earning a master’s degree in economics from a prestigious university, Robert built his career in a Fortune 500 company and remained with that organization for 15 years. When he resigned in the early 1980s, Robert held the title of Executive Vice President and presided over a budget of $600 million. He resigned in order to launch his own company in financial services. It was a company that Robert owned individually, but that managed more than $350 million in institutional funds. As the founder and Chief Executive Officer of his company, Robert had cultivated a high level of trust with his clients, most of whom were officers in publicly traded corporations or large institutions.

Despite outward appearances of total control and self-mastery, Robert said that he suffered from mood swings since childhood. They became more severe as he matured. He described sinking into deep depressions for months, and also passing through several months of manic highs. Robert’s wife and children described him as eccentric, never considering that he could be suffering from a mental disorder.

As the CEO of his firm, Robert had more than 100 employees to whom he could delegate responsibilities. The power that came with his position included an ability to take extended periods of time off, and provided unfettered control over all financial accounts. To cope with what he characterized as depression, Robert said that he began diverting funds from customers to his personal accounts. Over a period of several years, Robert embezzled nearly $10 million. He had been successful in hiding those misappropriations, but when Robert concluded that the fraud had gone on for too long, and that he could not reverse the damages he had caused, he attempted to take his life.

He e-mailed a suicide note to his wife and to a friend, thinking they would not receive the note until after his death. Robert drove to a secluded estate where he liked to spend time alone. He brought a handgun to his chest and pulled the trigger. Caretakers of the estate discovered him. They called for emergency medical attention, and a helicopter transported Robert to a trauma center. The gunshot wound missed his heart, but Robert required several major surgeries and remained hospitalized for two months.

Upon regaining consciousness, Robert divulged all that he had done to his wife and children. His son, who was a lawyer, retained a criminal lawyer who came to speak with Robert while he was recuperating in a hospital bed. Robert insisted on notifying the authorities about his embezzlement and cooperating fully to assuage the feelings of guilt that were tormenting him.

While recuperating, Robert underwent treatment for the mental disorder that led to his attempted suicide. Those who treated Robert diagnosed him with a severe case of bipolar disorder. He had been suffering from a chemical imbalance that caused the depression and manic mood swings. Those imbalances, he concluded, led to an irrationality and were the root cause of his actions. His mental instability notwithstanding, Robert offered a complete confession to authorities and agreed to accept whatever sanction the court imposed. The judge sentenced Robert to serve nine years in prison, and the criminal proceedings resulted in the complete loss of a fortune that once exceeded several million dollars in value.

Robert had been incarcerated for one year when we spoke. His responses to Professor Schrenkler’s questions follow.

1. Do you feel you had a good understanding of your personal core values? How did those core values guide your decisions while on the job?

When I asked Robert this question, he expressed a total commitment to personal core values such as honesty, integrity, loyalty, and the virtues that others associate with good citizenship. He married in 1968. Together with his wife, Robert reared two children, both of whom graduated from law school and now work as attorneys. He was a man of faith and considered the contributions he made to his community an integral part of his identity.

Those core values guided Robert’s decisions with regard to his family life, his professional life, and his social life. The bipolar mental disorder that afflicted him, however, influenced his behavior. Without prior diagnosis or treatment, he said that he sometimes lived with delusions that rules did not apply to him. During the times of depression, Robert said the unmedicated bipolar disorder caused him to lose track of those core values. It was during such times he converted funds from client accounts for his own use. He inappropriately used a portion of those funds for venture capital projects and also to purchase unnecessary luxury items. Such expenditures, he said, were made to pull him from the depression. He needed to feel invincible and with access to deep pools of client money, Robert could live as if rules didn’t apply to him.

2. What was the most important aspect of a career in business for you? What motivated you the most?

Robert said that from the time his career began, he derived a great sense of satisfaction from creating efficiencies and solving complex problems. While working his way up the hierarchy of the Fortune-500 company where Robert began his career, he said that the corporation rewarded him with large bonuses for bringing projects in ahead of schedule and under budget. Although he appreciated the financial recognition, he felt motivated most in organizing a team and a system to accomplish a task well.

Once he launched his own venture, Robert said the most important aspect of his career was building relationships with leaders of great American businesses and providing them with excellent service. Cultivating their friendship and trust motivated him, he said, when he was thinking clearly. Robert cried when discussing those relationships, as he recognized that there was nothing he could do to make amends for the losses people incurred as a consequence of his actions.

3. Who do you think is responsible for the ethics of a company?

Robert recognized that leadership within the company must set the ethical code. He understood that he had a responsibility of lending by example, and his position allowed him to manifest that leadership outwardly. Internally, however, he said that he felt deficient and knew that he was not living up to his own code of ethics. Robert said that the symptoms of his disorder were more powerful than his ability to lead. He was trying to survive the lows, the depression. The response he chose resulted in lies, cover-ups, and an endless struggle with internal conflict. In retrospect, Robert said that he was amazed he had survived as long as he did.

4. Did you have a written code of ethics and did you base your decisions around those codes?

While in the earlier stages of Robert’s career, when he worked within the executive ranks of the Fortune-500 company, he said that all decisions were supposed to be made in accordance with a strict, written ethical code. As a senior executive, Robert evaluated subordinates in accordance with their compliance with the ethical code. He said that he abided by the code to the letter and that he identified personally with every virtue expressed in the code.

In leading his own company, Robert said that he did not write a code of ethics. The services he offered required a well-educated and highly trained workforce. They had a personal code of honesty that Robert said he respected. He did not feel the need to write out an ethical code, as the office was less formal than the large corporation where he had begun his career.

5. Did you believe your business decisions followed your company’s core values?

Robert said that he absolutely lived by a core set of values in his lie and that he made all business decisions in accordance with those core values while he was in control of his senses. As Robert grew into his 50s, however, he said the symptoms of his bipolar disorder caused him to deviate from those principles. That was when he began converting client assets to his own account. Through profligate spending, Robert made futile efforts to lift his depression. Those decisions resulted in millions of dollars worth of losses, including the forfeiture of Robert’s total net worth.

6. Did you think that, given your position as CEO, you should have been held to a higher ethical standard?

Robert acknowledged that he should have been held to the highest ethical standard. Ultimately, however, he was the only person who could judge his conduct. With an undiagnosed and unmedicated mental disorder, he was incapable of living up to the ethical principles that he held of high value.

7. Do you feel your employees were equipped to recognize ethical dilemmas?

The employees in Robert’s company were well equipped to recognize ethical dilemmas as they were highly educated professionals. They only had degrees of access to information, however, and could not judge Robert’s actions. He was able to cover-up the fraud as the CEO of a privately held company. Toward the end, however, some of Robert’s key employees recognized discrepancies. They resigned from the firm and Robert could tell that he had begun to lose respect as a leader.

8. Explain the corporate culture within your company during your involvement.

Robert said that he created a familiar rather than stuffy corporate culture. He did not socialize with employees, but he treated everyone with respect. He provided first-rate offices, computer equipment, chairs, and work stations. On Fridays, provided the work had been done, Robert permitted employees to leave in the early afternoon. People enjoyed their careers, and Robert said he took pride in treating them well.

Although Robert did not socialize with employees, he did make friends with clients. He expressed great sadness in acknowledging that those friendships with his former clients had been lost.

9. Is it possible to have a very aggressive corporate culture yet foster an ethical environment?

Without question, Robert said, a strong leader can foster an ethical environment in a very aggressive corporate culture. In his business, which earned revenues based on the number of employees within each client’s organization, Robert considered it crucial to earn customer trust through offering outstanding service. Robert’s employees earned a fixed salary plus bonuses, though the bonuses were tied to customer service. Every individual who worked with Robert had a motivation to nurture customer relationships, as the corporate revenues were tied in a fixed way to employee headcounts for customers, not commissions. The fraud that occurred resulted from Robert’s mental disorder, not an aggressive corporate culture.

10. If you could choose to redo anything, what would it be?

Robert regrets that he lacked the insight to have recognized the symptoms of his mental health disorder. He understands that he was highly educated, as was his wife. Nevertheless, Robert never sought psychiatric counseling or any type of treatment for his disorder. Instead, he said that he sought to even out the mood swings by spending money in reckless ways. With access to tens of millions in client accounts, that decision sank him into deeper problems.

Robert expressed deep regret at having made decisions that cost others significant amounts of money. He regrets the humiliation and financial ruin his actions have brought to his own family. He regrets that he put those who love him through turmoil during the ordeal that followed his attempted suicide.

11. Did anything good come out of this?

Although Robert expressed sadness that his actions caused financial losses for people he cares about, he said that upon his recovery from the suicide attempt, a healing began that enabled his family to grow closer together. As a consequence of the publicity that surrounded his case, both of his children had to move from California to the East Coast. They were lawyers and the media coverage of Robert’s crime harmed their careers. Robert’s wife of more than 40 years had to return to work as all of the family assets were liquidated to help cover the loss. Despite the pain that Robert’s actions caused to so many, he said that once he began the medical treatment for his mental disorder, he received medication and therapy that helped balance his moods. Over time, that treatment allowed his family to grow closer together.

12. What is your biggest regret?

Robert said his biggest regret was that he had made decisions that caused irreparable harm to many people. The financial losses were significant, and he understood that although his own family suffered the most loss of all, others had also lost in ways that he could not make whole. This regret, he said, caused an internal grief that was far worse than the justice department or imprisonment could inflict.

13. What roadblocks do you expect to encounter upon release?

Robert said that his sentence will keep him in prison until he turns 71. Despite the age, he will have to find some kind of viable employment. The felony precludes a return to the corporate sector. Robert expects that he will support himself by making some kind of use from his extensive knowledge of computer networks, though it likely will be through small business as an independent contractor.

14. What advice would you provide a business student?

Robert said that the most important advice he could offer a business student would be to value the virtue of honesty. A successful businessperson had to feel truth within himself. That meant looking in the mirror and knowing that he or she was true to the principles of truth. The pain that comes from deceit extends far beyond the individual, and in some cases, it has no end. Robert said that valuing honesty and truth would be the best advice he could give to a student.

15. How do you feel about a business ethics class questioning you on ethics?

Robert said that after he healed from the surgeries that followed his suicide attempt, and after he was released from the psychiatric hospital that diagnosed his mental disorder, he revealed everything that he had done to the FBI. Law enforcement had not known about the fraud, so Robert walked through every aspect, and provided the FBI agents with records of every transaction. He voluntarily liquidated all of his assets in an effort to recompense losses. That total cooperation, he said, brought a catharsis. Responding to the questions of a business ethics class continued the slow process of cognitive therapy.

Summary:

In speaking with Robert for this project, he broke down in tears several times. I was surprised, as I did not know about his suicide attempt, his bipolar disorder, or much of anything about his case. To me, he was simply another prisoner whose demeanor and image fit that of a successful CEO. We have many such men who now serve time in prison.

I asked Robert whether he had apologized to the victims who suffered financially from his crime. He said that he could not find the strength to reach out. Part of the therapy, he said, was trying to keep his mood swings from elevating. It was a constant struggle and one that he had not yet mastered. It was the reason that he asked me to conceal his identity. The past still haunted him, tormented him with shame and guilt. As a defensive mechanism, he said that he had to protect his mental health, at least for now.

The post Bipolar Disorder Leads CEO to Embezzlement and Suicide Attempt appeared first on Prison News Blog.

Justin graduated from the University of Southern California in 1997. He had played third base for the Trojans’ baseball team, and he earned a degree in psychology. Following his graduation, Justin pursued a career as a stockbroker.

Justin acknowledge that he had been reared with privileges, good role models, and advantages that others did not enjoy. By his 25th birthday, the then distinguished brokerage house of Bear Stearns employed him. When he was 26, the rival firm of UBS recruited Justin by offering him a mid six-figure signing bonus. At 28, Justin allocated and oversaw more than $150 million worth of securities. As a young, single man, Justin’s annual income placed him in the top three percent of all American earners.

Despite what others would have considered a smashingly successful career, Justin yearned for more. Greed and envy clouded his judgment. When he learned that a client of his was operating a Ponzi scheme, Justin took steps to shield himself from liability. Though he did not take appropriate steps to report the fraud to authorities. Having done so would have cut into the commissions he counted on earning. By abusing the discretion that came with his position, Justin became complicitous with the fraud.

Those were the reasons that brought him to prison. While we were together, I asked Justin to participate in a project on which I was working to gather data on the subjects of ethics. I explained the efforts I was making to contribute to the work of Professor Jana Schrenkler, of Saint Mary’s University. Professor Schrenkler had designed a questionnaire that I was using as a guide. Justin’s responses follow:

Ethical Development

1. Do you feel you have a good understanding of your personal core values? How did those core values guide your decisions while you were on the job?

Now, with nearly a year of imprisonment behind me, I have a much better grasp of my core values. Ironically, those were the same values that guided me as a child and through my college years. I was an athlete. I valued the importance of honesty, hard work, self-discipline. Once I graduated college, however, my allegiance to such values diminished. I had entered the world of money management. As a stockbroker, I made decisions that would lead to short-term earnings. I deeply regret having lost the core values that I know to have been right. I am ashamed to admit that while I was building my career, the values that drove my decisions had more to do with greed and immediate gratification.

2. What was the most important aspect of a career in business for you? What motivated you most?

As a young stockbroker, I was compensated in accordance with the amount of trading commissions I generated. I felt a constant pressure and motivation to earn more. My colleagues encouraged me to devote my time to activities that would yield higher commissions on trades, and fees we could earn through other areas, such as margin loans and asset management. The more money I had under management, the more income I generated for my brokerage house, my colleagues, and for myself. High earnings motivated me. Such values led me to decisions that I now regret.

3. Who do you think is responsible for the ethics of a company?

A company is made of individuals, and every individual who works for the company bears a responsibility for its ethical culture. The culture of ethics begins at the top. It works its way down through officers, supervisors, and every employee.

Ethical Decision Making

4. Did you have a written code of ethics at your company? Did you base your decisions around those cods.

We had a written code of ethics at both Bear Stearns and at UBS. Yet it was not a part of the culture. As financial services professionals, we had requirements to participate in various continuing education courses. Unfortunately, those were not the codes that drove the culture. I participated in the obligatory courses, though I focused more on my responsibilities as a young broker. As I perceived them, and as I was compensated, my superiors expected me to generate an income. Naturally, they expected me to use the discretion of a professional. Though I sensed that my duty was to the firm and to surpassing Wall Street earning expectations. The subject of ethics was not one we discussed.

5. Did you believe your business decisions followed your company’s core values?

I am ashamed to say that yes, I believe the decisions I made were consistent with the values of my company. This acknowledgment may strike some as absurd. I was a stockbroker, and a decision I made resulted in my being charged with securities fraud. Yet I am referring to the company’s core values as I perceived them, not to the company’s published values.

The published values may have touted the importance of ethics, integrity, and honesty. Unfortunately, such was not the emphasis at UBS or Bear Stearns. Indeed, both firms have been disgraced in recent months because of their unethical cultures.

My decisions were unethical. Unfortunately, I also feel they were consistent with the unethical culture in which I worked. That does not excuse my behavior, as I recognize now that I should have made decisions based on honesty, integrity, and the good character of which I was capable. Indeed, I let myself stray from what I know to have been right.

6. Did you think you should have been held to a higher ethical standard, given your position?

Without question, I should have been held to the highest ethical standard. I was reared in a good home. I had an education from the best schools. My clients trusted me to look after assets worth millions. That position leaves me without excuses, only a great deal of shame.

7. Do you feel your employees were equipped to recognize ethical dilemmas?

As a broker with many clients I employed an assistant. Her allegiance was to me and to the commissions I was generating. I do not believe that I provided her with the leadership necessary to recognize or resolve ethical dilemmas

Corporate Environment

8. Please explain the corporate culture within your company during your involvement.

I worked at Bear Stearns and UBS for the majority of my brief career. Prior to those two firms, I briefly worked at Merrill Lynch. Ironically, all these firms have been mired in scandal since the economic crisis began. One of the reasons, I believe, was that the corporate culture was driven by greed rather than good citizenship. I recognized it within weeks of beginning my career. I am ashamed to admit that I lacked the strength of commitment and judgment to act in accordance with a code of values that I know to be superior.

9. Is it possible to have a very aggressive corporate culture, yet foster an ethical environment?

Yes it is, I am certain of it. Such a culture, however, must be nurtured from the top. Although as a young broker I chose the path of least resistance, I had the privilege of acquaintance with some outstanding investment managers. They did not work for the large Wall Street firms. Instead, they ran boutique firms, and the leaders of those firms personified excellence. They were living the values they professed, and rewarded their employees with regular training. That training included speakers who offered seminars on ethics, balance, and the inherent value that accompanied lives of significance. The leaders of those firms aggressively recruited clients, though they emphasized that their culture differed from aggressive trading strategies. They nurtured long-term relationships with the client. Such was a winning strategy, though it was not one I appreciated at the time.

Reflections

10. If you could choose to redo anything, what would it be?

I would have continued to pursue higher education. I should have not only advanced to graduate school, but I should have continued learning in informal ways. My focus was wrongly placed on earning a high income. In my early 20s, I lacked patience and discipline to appreciate the value of wisdom. I needed more raining to grasp the significance of reputation, of leading a values-centered life. That misdirection did not serve me well. As a consequence of my having lost touch with my core values, I made decisions that disgraced my career. Worse, it contributed to the victimizing of others.

11. Did anything good come out of this?

Yes. I feel sad for the trouble I caused to so many others. Though I feel grateful to have had this opportunity to recalibrate my life. Prison has given me a wake up. I intend to live the remainder of my life as an honest man, never having to look over my shoulder because of unethical decisions I made. In time, I hope that efforts I make to redeem the bad decisions of my early career earn  my place back as a good citizen.

12. What is your biggest regret?

The biggest regret I have is the shame I have caused to my family, and the lifelong disgrace my decisions bring to me. I strive to atone, but there are some bad decisions we can make that we cannot undo. I caused others harm, and each time I see a financial scandal on the news, I feel a sense of humiliation. It stings. I regret the bad choices that I made in order to serve my interests at the expense of others.

13. What roadblocks do you expect to encounter upon release?

I am a felon and I am barred from the securities industry. My convictions have cost me well over $500k in hard costs, fines, and restitution orders. I expect to work the rest of my life to pay off the costs that were associated with the greed and poor judgment of my early career as a stockbroker. Somehow, I hope to make contributions to society, though I must also find a method to sustain myself. Perhaps I can teach, as I’ve learned lessons that can be of value to others. Still, I do not know the restrictions or stigmas I will encounter as a man released from federal prison. I must also learn to live with the shame that follows me like a shadow.

14. What advice would you provide a business student?

As a young student at USC, I dismissed courses or lectures on ethics. I never expected they would have relevance to me. Yet as I entered the business world, I was constantly confronted with ethical dilemmas. They would have been a dilemma to me at all if I had had a strong core. I would advise business students that an education does not end with a degree. Each individual should recognize the value that comes with a commitment to learning. Taht student should not neglect the importance of ethical lessons, as they are human lessons. I learned mine from the wrong side of prison boundaries. As a consequence, I carry a heavy burden. I advise students to recognize that they must prepare themselves for the challenges and ethical dilemmas of the business world.

15. How do you feel about a Business Ethics class questioning you on your ethics?

I feel a sort of catharsis in writing about the shame that I carry within me. I made some bad decisions, decisions that I would not have thought possible when I was a college student. Talking about my disgrace is like an exercise in expiation. If I were speaking in person, I suppose that those in audiences would cast aspersions at me. As a felon, I will have to learn to live with the disgrace I have brought upon myself. By talking about my ethical lapses, however, I hope that I may help others, and I hope that I may begin the healing process for myself.

Summary:

I found Justin honest and remorseful for his actions. Perhaps his efforts to atone will help him reconcile with his conscience and with society. I welcome reader questions and comments.

The post Convicted Stockbroker Describes Ethical Lessons appeared first on Prison News Blog.

My term in prison began in 1987, when I was 23. I had not been incarcerated previously, though the length of my sentence necessitated that I begin serving my term within the impregnable walls of a high-security United States Penitentiary. After many years, my adjustment pattern persuaded administrators to lower my security level. They transferred me to various Federal Correctional Institutions of medium and low-security. Since 2003, I’ve been confined in camps with men who served time for securities fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, tax evasion, and other crimes related to careers they once led.

An irony of having served 22 years was that it brought a certain status and credibility within prison boundaries. I had earned an undergraduated degree from Mercer University and a graduated degree from Hofstra University during my confinement. Besides those academic credentials, publishers brought several of my books to market, and I maintain a growing presence on the Internet as a consequence of the daily content I publish at PrisonNewsBlog.com.

Some within the broader society may have held a dubious view of such qualifications. In prison, however, they were platinum-plated, superior to degrees from the Ivy Leagues. The work I had done as a prisoner, together with the time I had served, merited a reputation within my community. It assuaged anxieties others had about sharing their stories with me. They knew that I was writing to help others learn more about prisons, the people they held, and strategies for growing through confinement.

Through this commitment to gather data from my fellow prisoners, I stumbled upon an academic project that Professor Jana Schrenkler was coordinating. Professor Schrenkler teaches business classes at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. Recognizing the need to construct courses that would teach future MBAs in the area of ethics, Professor Schrenkler coordinated a questionnaire that she was sending to former business executives who were serving time in federal prison.

Bob, a fellow prisoner who was serving time in the same prison as me, received one of the unsolicited questionnaires from Professor Schrenkler. Bob had been the CEO of a manufacturing company with more than a billion dollars in annual revenues. He was bitter about his conviction and did not feel inclined to participate in Professor Schrenkler’s study. Being familiar with my interests in contributing to society, however, Bob passed along Professor Schrenkler’s inquiry.

I wrote Professor Schrenkler to introduce myself and to offer contributions. Although I was not a white-collar offender, I explained, I served time with hundreds of men who were convicted for crimes related to decisions they had made through the course of their careers. Such men were more accessible to me than to those in society. Prison administrators did not make it easy for researchers to talk with people in prison. Unlike those in traditional academic settings like Professor Schrenkler, I was immersed in the prison community. Further, my status as a long-term prisoner sometimes freed the men to talk openly with me.

Professor Schrenkler responded favorably to my letter. In time, she coordinated permission to visit me in Taft Camp. During the two hours that we spoke, I described my experiences of living in prison and told Professor Schrenkler what I had learned through my work of interviewing others. I also listened to the challenges she was facing in gathering data from former business professionals who were serving time in federal prison.

The articles that follow in the ethics category may contribute to Professor Schrenkler’s efforts to help business students grasp the importance of making value-based decisions. I interview the men I profiled with full disclosure on the project I was working. I wrote briefly about the crimes and convictions as the men described them to me. Some of the men allowed me to use their real names while others asked that I shield their identities. Following the brief introductions of each subject, I asked the men to respond to questions Professor Schrenkler had gathered. The questions include the subheadings of: Ethical Development, Ethical Decision-Making, Corporate Environment, and Reflections.

I hope readers find some value in this work, and I invite questions or comments.

The post Intro on Ethics appeared first on Prison News Blog.

I have been confined in prisons of every security level, and in every security level I have known female staff members who engaged in sexual acts with prisoners. Many have been prosecuted for their actions. Yet I know some staff members who were never discovered. One friend of mine had a relationship with a nurse who worked at a prison. She resigned from her job once other staff members began to suspect the sexual relationship she was having with my friend. The couple was later married.

One reader asked how I felt about female guards who engaged in personal relationships with prisoners. The reader was a criminal justice student, and I suspect that she drew a clear distinction between correctional officers and prisoners. Although I understood her concerns about preserving the security of prisons, from my perspective prisons serve as breeding grounds for failure and corruption; high recidivism rates support my premise.

According to my perspective, God created us all as human beings. When men and women come together, the possibility exists for them to build relationships. Although such relationships may be contrary to prison design, they are consistent with God’s design. I am opposed to prison rules. It is wrong, I think, to separate men from women for years or decades at a time. Such unnatural environments cause more harm than good. If a man in prison succeeds in building a relationship with a woman, regardless of where she works, I am convinced the man will have more rather than less reason to prepare for a contributory life. That is why I would not judge a prison guard who developed a relationship with a prisoner.

During the 21 years that I have served in prison, I have never had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. I did, however, fall in love and marry a magnificent woman. Had she worked for a prison where I was confined, I would have loved her just the same.

My allegiance is not to a system that cultivates failure.

The post Sexual Encounters with Prison Staff appeared first on Prison News Blog.