Let me start off from the "get-go" and announce without reservation that I am thoroughly ticked!! Other than the rampant stupidity and incompetence that marks the alleged leadership ensconced within the Washington, D.C. Beltway, it takes quite a bit of deliberate aggravation to get me riled up. Today, however, is a red letter day that has nothing to do with national politics.
I'm not sure if in a previous post I mentioned the fact that my last employer discovered that his office manager, Jessica, of approximately four years has been embezzling money from his company. Upon the initial discovery my former boss called me to see if I would be willing to come back to work in order to help him determine the extent of the discovered crime. I stated that I was ill equipped for a foray into forensic accounting, but suggested that he inquire of my wife, Judi, to determine if she would be willing to give it a go; she being a stickler for strict accounting practices, having saved every receipt in our family dating back to the founding of the 13 original colonies. Judi agreed and has performed, for the past four weeks a yeoman's task in reconstructing the intertwining paths that the office manager traveled down in order to pocket clandestinely her ill-gotten gains.
Initially I harbored sentiments of sorrow for both parties; my boss for doing all that he can to keep the doors of his company open during these trying economic times when the construction industry as a whole is gasping for existence. And for Jessica, the culprit in all of this; she having two small children and a husband employed as a maintenance man at the local college. Judi's daily briefings to me on the extent of Jessica's illegal exploits soon left me increasingly shocked and decreasingly less understanding of her plight. What initially appeared to be an amount in the neighborhood of approximately $30,000 has, as of yesterday's revised calculations, elevated to the staggering figure of $100,000, with still more discovery to be unearthed.
The issue that has gotten me to the point of angry exasperation is my personal recollection that I had received a few months ago an up-dated statement from Social Security which indicated that my personal wage earning contributions to my Social Security account did not indicate any dollars credited to that account for all of 2006, 2007, and the first eight months of 2008, the last month I was employed before being laid off. When I first discovered that omission, I attributed it to a likely clerical error on Social Security's part. I brought this observation to my former employer's attention and he, in turn, advised Jessica that she was to immediately look into the issue and make sure that my earned wages for the stated period were properly credited. She assured the boss and me that such would be the case. Guess what? Her saying that she would address the issue was as far as it ever got! Judi and I have determined that not only has Jessica been withdrawing monthly thousands of dollars from the company's several operating accounts, but it appears that she has consistently diverted untold thousands of dollars for her personal use by deliberately failing to pay such essential and mandatory stipends as Federal and state payroll taxes, property taxes, and FICA. No wonder the State of Florida and Uncle Sam are screaming their heads off wanting to know what the hell is going on? Now, I am joining that chorus of justified malcontents!
The two years and eight months prior to my departing my former place of employment were among my highest years of wage earning and contributions...a period of time that is now showing zero...and unless corrected, could very well have a decided negative impact on calculating my monthly Social Security check that I am entitled to start receiving in less than a year. In this woeful economy and with little prospects of gainful re-employment in the foreseeable future, every dime I can garner from my monthly social security check could spell the difference between keeping our heads above water or risk losing everything. Hell yes, I'm pissed!
Judi departed this morning to deliver this additional fuel to an already roaring fire, knowing that the boss will become even more dejected than he already is...if that is humanly possible. Next on the agenda is to confirm that her failure to pay my FICA taxes also applies to the other employees for the same period of time. My guess is yes. This realization, if and when confirmed, will only serve to push my former employer ever closer to seeking bankruptcy protection.
Waiting in the wings is an arrest warrant for Jessica. So many questions remain unanswered. Could she have possibly squandered away frivolously the thousands upon thousands of dollars she stole from the company without sequestering some of the monies in a yet to be determined personal saving account, and, if they exist, can all or a portion of the stolen monies be returned to their rightful owner? Will she face merely prosecution from the State Attorney's office, which at the moment mostly likely will land her a minimum 10 year prison sentence, or will she also be prosecuted by the Federal authorities for defrauding the Federal government, which carries an even more sever penalty? This sad saga continues to play out and the final chapter has yet to be determined.
In the final analysis, I still harbor feelings of pity for Jessica, trying to decipher why she would place herself, her husband and their two very small children in such dire jeopardy. Her actions have already ruined so many lives and the final devastating fallout has yet to occur. The bumper sticker reads, "Stupidity Should Be Painful." In this sad state of affairs, a truer sentiment has never been spoken.
Excuse me while I go beat my head up against the brick wall...
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