The unethical fast lane isn’t cheap!                                                                                Ethics Moment             October 2006

  

Getting ahead by engaging in shady practices and downright unethical behavior has its price. Consider Governor Sonny Perdue who became the first sitting Georgia governor to be fined by the State Ethics Commission for violating campaign laws. In 2005, the commission fined him $1,900 and ordered him to repay $18,000 in campaign contributions—mostly to his wife. For the record, it should be noted that Governor Perdue has aggressively pursued ethics reform in Georgia.

 

Fast forward to 2006 and the Boeing Company. Caught recruiting a top Air Force weapons buyer who was overseeing Boeing contracts (remember Darleen Druyun) and facing criminal charges over allegations that it had improperly acquired proprietary documents from Lockheed Martin, Boeing agreed to pay the government $615 million to settle the inquiry.

 

Getting ahead can come with a hefty price tag, wouldn’t you agree?

 

Sources: New York Times, 7/26/06 and The Associated Press, 6/18/2005.