MASTERS OF GREED THUG OR CEO, THIEF FEELS ENTITLED.Byline: George J. Bryjak WHY do some individuals rob banks, steal from employers or cheat on their taxes? The fundamental economic explanation and the common-sense answer are the same: It's the money. While this straightforward interpretation may be adequate for most monetary crimes, it falls short for others. In his imaginative and insightful book, ``Seductions of Crime,'' criminologist Jack Katz argues that what motivates many street robbers is something quite different from a simple desire for financial gain. For Katz, what drives these individuals is the need to establish and maintain a certain identity: the tough guy, someone to be feared and respected. Each robbery is an affirmation of the tough-guy identity for both offender and victim. Similarly, for the corporate criminals who brought down Enron, Tyco and Arthur Andersen, the deviant motivation was much more than padding their bank accounts. Why would multimillionaires who lack the time to spend fortunes they already have engage in crimes to acquire even more money? The $52,000 that Martha Stewart saved in her ill-fated stock transaction was a minuscule fraction of her net worth, then estimated at $1 billion. It couldn't have been financial gain that motivated Stewart's actions, and the architect of one of the nation's most successful companies certainly isn't naive regarding the investment world. (She was a stock broker for six years.) For many high-ranking corporate offenders, wrongdoing wrong·do·er n. One who does wrong, especially morally or ethically. wrong  do is a byproduct by·prod·uct or by-prod·uct n. 1. Something produced in the making of something else. 2. A secondary result; a side effect. Noun 1. of their overwhelming success. The winners in the highly competitive, often-cutthroat arena of big business emerge from years of struggle with an exaggerated sense of self-worth. A small army of yes men and women surround these superachievers, continually reinforcing their narcissistic nar·cis·sism also nar·cism n. 1. Excessive love or admiration of oneself. See Synonyms at conceit. 2. A psychological condition characterized by self-preoccupation, lack of empathy, and unconscious deficits in views of moral and intellectual superiority. In ``The Bonfire of the Vanities,'' novelist Tom Wolfe captures the world view of this privileged class. Wall Street bond trader Sherman McCoy considers himself one of the ``masters of the universe.'' His fashionable address, wardrobe and social contacts all function to distinguish and distance him from the simplicity, boorishness and ignorance of the dregs dregs Noun, pl 1. solid particles that settle at the bottom of some liquids 2. the dregs the worst or most despised elements: the dregs of colonial society [Old Norse dregg below. As a member of the socioeconomic elite, he doesn't follow rules and regulations; he makes them. At the Stewart trial, Mariana Pasternak testified that her former friend commented on the tip she received about the coming decline of InClone stock. ``Isn't it nice to have friends who tell you those things?'' Stewart reportedly asked. The homemaking home·mak·er n. One who manages a household, especially as one's main daily activity. home mak diva repeatedly claimed that money was never the object of her actions, and, in all likelihood, she was telling the truth. At this level of wealth, as Katz notes, money is little more than a mechanism for keeping score. The stock sale was but one more affirmation of Stewart's membership in the circle of economic elite, the masters of the universe. Just as the tough-guy robber maintains his identity by intimidating victims, many corporate criminals affirm their sense of superiority by breaking the law. Sherman McCoy muses that, as a ``master of the universe,'' he deserves to get whatever he wants whenever ``the spirit moves me.'' Corporate criminals are similarly ``moved'' when they swindle swindle v. to cheat through trick, device, false statements or other fraudulent methods with the intent to acquire money or property from another to which the swindler is not entitled. Swindling is a crime as one form of theft. (See: fraud, theft) millions of dollars from consumers and investors. In attempting to explain his world to a social scientist, a young street hustler stated: ``People in the life ain't looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. no home and grass in the yard. ... We the show people, te glamour people. Come on the set with the finest car, the finest woman. ... Hear people talking about you. Hear the bar get quiet when you walk in the door.'' Corporate criminals at the elite level aren't looking for homes either, as they typically have more than one. (Stewart has six. Enron CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Ken Lay even had three in one community, Aspen, Colorado.) But there can be little doubt that some in this group consider themselves ``show people,'' the ``glamour people.'' Former Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski, who along with Mark Swartz was convicted on 22 counts of fraud, conspiracy and grand larceny A category of larceny—the offense of illegally taking the property of another—in which the value of the property taken is greater than that set for petit larceny. At Common Law, the punishment for grand larceny was death. for stealing $580 million from the company, spent more than $2 million on a lavish party for his wife. The birthday bash included an ice sculpture of Michelangelo's David that sprayed vodka from its penis. His $18 million Manhattan apartment was stuffed with expensive decorations. On those few occasions when corporate criminals are convicted, they rarely display remorse. Apologizing for one's action is tantamount to an admission of wrongdoing, something ``masters of the universe'' are loathe to do. To the contrary, corporate criminals are likely to offhandedly off·hand adv. Without preparation or forethought; extemporaneously. adj. also off·hand·ed Performed or expressed without preparation or forethought. See Synonyms at extemporaneous. dismiss or heap scorn on anyone who questions their behavior. After sentencing, Stewart complained that ``a small personal matter'' had been ``blown out of all proportion; ... it's just terrible.'' Implicit in these remarks is her condemnation of the criminal-justice system for having the audacity to hold her accountable for breaking the law. In his 1899 masterpiece, ``The Theory of the Leisure Class,'' sociologist Thorstein Veblen coined the term ``conspicuous consumption.'' He argued that the real enjoyment of the rich (read ``robber barons'') was not in the actual consumption of goods and services In economics, economic output is divided into physical goods and intangible services. Consumption of goods and services is assumed to produce utility (unless the "good" is a "bad"). It is often used when referring to a Goods and Services Tax. . Rather, their intense pleasure was derived from the conspicuous display of wealth for all to see and desire. Today's corporate robber barons Robber Barons A disparaging term dating back to the 12th century which refers to: 1) Unscrupulous feudal lords who amassed personal fortunes by using illegal and immoral business practices, such as illegally charging tolls to merchant ships that passed consume just as conspicuously. Their arrogant, in-your-face display of wealth and contempt for the law are manifestations of the ``masters of the universe'' syndrome. As image-conscious as the tough-guy street mugger mugger: see crocodile. , corporate criminals also want to be respected, feared and envied. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Caricatured are, from left, ex-Enron CEO Kenneth Lay, former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers and former Arthur Andersen partner David Duncan. Chuck Todd/Contra Costa Times (2 -- color) Martha Stewart wipes her face as she arrives with her daughter, Alexis, on her first day back to work at Martha Stewart Living Martha Stewart Living is a magazine and a television show featuring entertaining and home decorating guru Martha Stewart. Both the magazine and the television program focus on the domestic arts. Offices in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of March 7. Stewart was released from prison March 4, after serving five months for lying about a share deal to federal prosecutors. Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images |
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