Top News Story of the Year
I had no plans for doing anything like a top ten list or top whatever list of the best whatever of the year. But when I saw this news story, I just had to do at least this much.
So, many of us have had that feeling of just not really being up to giving it 100% at whatever it is we need to do, whether it's at work or back in our days at school. We don't really feel like trying at all. So, we call in sick to get the day off, even if we're actually fine. We ditch on appointments that should be important to us to laze about and act like we have no responsibilities.
Of course, that usually only lasts so long. We give up that ruse and get back to work like we're supposed to. It's just a day or two that in the long run usually amounts to not too much trouble for those we impact, although that's not always the case.
But this guy, a man by the name of John C. Beale took it all to another level.
Beale had a rather important job as a lead official in the EPA in the division of Air and Water Pollution. Between 2000 and the eventual discovery of his fraud last year, he billed the government for 2 1/2 years of work never did, took trips that billed to the government, and even got himself a preferred parking spot at work. All the while, he told his supervisors that he was secretly working with the CIA on covert operations in Pakistan with the EPA as his cover.
And what did he do during those days when he was supposedly dealing with the Taliban in Pakistan? He was at home in North Carolina... reading books... and going for bike rides.
All told he cost the government nearly $1 Million. He was sentenced yesterday to 32 months in prison (2 years 8 months). The story is here.
The sheer scale and audacity of this fraud is like something out of a movie, which is probably how he was able to get away with it for so long. It was just too ridiculous to be true. He was someone who was trusted and respected, and he used that to get away with a reckless act whose consequences we won't know for some time yet.
It's both an infuriating story and a made for the movies type of comedy. No other story that I can remember from this past year really managed to hit both marks so poignantly. So funny it hurts, and so painful you can't help but laugh.
So, many of us have had that feeling of just not really being up to giving it 100% at whatever it is we need to do, whether it's at work or back in our days at school. We don't really feel like trying at all. So, we call in sick to get the day off, even if we're actually fine. We ditch on appointments that should be important to us to laze about and act like we have no responsibilities.
Of course, that usually only lasts so long. We give up that ruse and get back to work like we're supposed to. It's just a day or two that in the long run usually amounts to not too much trouble for those we impact, although that's not always the case.
But this guy, a man by the name of John C. Beale took it all to another level.
Beale had a rather important job as a lead official in the EPA in the division of Air and Water Pollution. Between 2000 and the eventual discovery of his fraud last year, he billed the government for 2 1/2 years of work never did, took trips that billed to the government, and even got himself a preferred parking spot at work. All the while, he told his supervisors that he was secretly working with the CIA on covert operations in Pakistan with the EPA as his cover.
And what did he do during those days when he was supposedly dealing with the Taliban in Pakistan? He was at home in North Carolina... reading books... and going for bike rides.
All told he cost the government nearly $1 Million. He was sentenced yesterday to 32 months in prison (2 years 8 months). The story is here.
The sheer scale and audacity of this fraud is like something out of a movie, which is probably how he was able to get away with it for so long. It was just too ridiculous to be true. He was someone who was trusted and respected, and he used that to get away with a reckless act whose consequences we won't know for some time yet.
It's both an infuriating story and a made for the movies type of comedy. No other story that I can remember from this past year really managed to hit both marks so poignantly. So funny it hurts, and so painful you can't help but laugh.
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