Monthly Archives: June 2008

Money Does Not Buy Happiness, But Giving Money Away Can

Posted on June 28, 2008 by mmjdiary

A series of studies by Harvard professor, Michael I. Norton, and University of British Columbia professors, Elizabeth Dunn and Lara Aknin, conclude that the amount is not the issue.  We gain a great deal of satisfaction from helping others.  The authors … Continue reading →

Posted in Data and Studies on Ethics | 1 Comment

“I will go to my grave wondering why.”

Posted on June 28, 2008 by mmjdiary

Class-action lawyer Dickie Scruggs at his sentencing hearing as he tried to explain why he was involved in a scheme to bribe a federal judge.  Mr. Scruggs had entered a guilty plea in March 2008 and was sentenced to five years on June … Continue reading →

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“He didn’t need to cheat.” Class-Action Lawyer Dickie Scruggs Gets Five Years

Posted on June 28, 2008 by mmjdiary

He was a lawyer’s lawyer.  The Tom Wolfe of the legal profession with his sartorial splendor.  He was the good guy in the story of Jeffrey Wigand’s battle with the tobacco companies (“The Insider”).  Mr. Scruggs recovered $206 billion in his … Continue reading →

Posted in The Legal Round-Up | 1 Comment

Don’t Lie on Your Résumé! There’s Opportunity in Packaging the Truth

Posted on June 26, 2008 by mmjdiary

The age-old, as it were, adage is that those over 40 can’t get hired.  Age discrimination laws aside, the call-backs don’t come for the 49-year-old with a stalled career.  My students resort to the Albert Carr philosophy on ethics:  lying … Continue reading →

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“Seven Signs”: Now A Gold Medal Winner Is Spotlighted on Axiom

Posted on June 25, 2008 by mmjdiary

“The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse:  How To Spot Moral Meltdowns in Companies Before It’s Too Late” was recognized with a Gold Medal in the Business Ethics category award.  You can view the write-up at http://axiomawards.wordpress.com/

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“I’ve effectively washed a 30-year career down the drain.”

Posted on June 25, 2008 by mmjdiary

Ralph R. Cioffi, former Bear Stearns hedge fund manager, in a June 2007 e-mail after a Bear Stearns subprime hedge fund lost 100% of its value.  Mr. Cioffi had earned an 8-figure salary in 2006 and was indicted on June 19, 2008 … Continue reading →

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“[T]he subprime market looks pretty damn ugly. . . If we believe [our internal modeling] is ANYWHERE CLOSE to accurate I think we should close the funds now. The reason for this is that if [our internal modeling] is correct then the entire subprime market is toast. . . . If AAA bonds are systematically downgraded then there is simply no way for us to make money — ever.” (Emphasis appears in original text)

Posted on June 25, 2008 by mmjdiary

E-mail from Matthew M. Tannin to Ralph Cioffi (sent using his private e-mail account to Mr. Cioffi’s wife’s e-mail account), former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers who have been charged with fraud.  A later meeting between the two found Mr. Tannin convinced … Continue reading →

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The Entrepreneur Who Claimed to Be CFO at the Vatican

Posted on June 25, 2008 by mmjdiary

The former paramour of actress Anne Hathaway, Italian entrepreneur, Raffaello Follieri, has been charged with using investors’ money for financing a lavish lifestyle, as well as the ubiquitous white-collar charges of money laundering, wire fraud, and conspiracy. However, this case … Continue reading →

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Countrywide vs. the AGs

Posted on June 25, 2008 by mmjdiary

The Illinois attorney general has filed suit against Countrywide Financial, one of the country’s largest subprime lenders, and its CEO, Angelo R. Mozilo.  The suit, announced by AG Lisa Madigan, alleges that in its effort to dominate the subprime lending market, … Continue reading →

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“I have a huge test on a book tomorrow I haven’t read and its not on spark notes (sic throughout).”

Posted on June 24, 2008 by mmjdiary

Text message of Tanvar Singh to his friend, Omar Shahid Khan.  The two were charged with, among other things, breaking and entering their school, Tesoro High, to obtain copies of an AP English exam and the Scantron answer key.

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OSHA and Workers’ Comp Figures Don’t Match

Posted on June 23, 2008 by mmjdiary

A study in the June 2010  issue of Annals of Epidemiology finds that we have two sets of books when it comes to injuries in the workplace.  OSHA reportable figures (as found in the Bureau of Labor Statistics), or those injury … Continue reading →

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“We have no regard for each other. We no longer have a moral compass.”

Posted on June 23, 2008 by mmjdiary

Daryl Roberts, chief of police, Hartford, Connecticut, after seeing the video tape from security cameras that showed dozens passing and driving by a 78-year-old hit-and-run victim.  Another Kitty Genovese?

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“At such a life-and-death moment, I would only give up my life for my daughter. I would not do it for other people, even my mother.”

Posted on June 23, 2008 by mmjdiary

Fan Meizhong, a teacher who abandoned his students when the May 12th earthquake hit China. 

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“I never told you a lie. I told you incremental escalations of half-truths.”

Posted on June 23, 2008 by mmjdiary

Nancy Clark (Goldie Hawn) to her husband, Henry Clark (Steve Martin) in Neil Simon’s “The Out-of-Towners.”

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