An elected official accepts a free lunch. A bookkeeper short on cash takes $100 with the intent of paying it back. Employees at the city’s Department of Permitting and Planning welcome malasadas from people trying to get their projects approved.
The justifications for violating the faith placed in them by constituents, local families, churches, community groups and businesses can vary.
They typically boil down to: Entitlement. Hubris. Feeling unappreciated and underpaid. Or, even more cynically: Everyone else does it.
Their betrayal and the price tag of their crimes escalates until they’re caught, criminal charges are filed, reputations are ruined and offenders end up in state jails or federal prisons.
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