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Cracking Down on Corporate Crime
by Mischa Gelman
(published 9/13/00)
  
  In most election seasons we're sure to hear a good deal of talk about
cutting down on crime - perhaps we'll hear the same thing this year,
despite the decade-long decline in crime. One thing we can be sure of,
though, is that such discussion will focus on property crimes and violent
crime committed by isolated individuals - and rape, burglary, fraud and
manslaughter are all deserving of public condemnation, Overlooked in all
of this is making corporate criminals pay. The principle of 'do the crime,
do the time' is ignored in such instances, where a slap on the wrist fine
is all that is done.
   Such punishment allows corporate criminals to roam free and strike
again - and recidivism is widespread. For instance, Exxon, Royal
Carribean, Teledyne and United Technologies all were repeat offenders in
the past decade. While many Americans live under "3 strikes and you're
out", these corporations can keep striking out without a single jail
sentence for its management. 
   These criminals not only don't do the time, but they clutter our
airwaves telling us about what good they've done. Imagine if O.J. were on
our TV daily saying he's some kind of saint. How is this different from
Archer Daniels Midland's daily ads claiming they're making the world a
better place. After all, ADM ("Price Fixers to the World") were hit with a
$100 million fine for violating antitrust laws. Do they think we're
gullible enough to think they mean well? Dozens of other big name
companies tagged with multi-million dollar fines, including General
Electric (for fraud), Pfizer (antitrust), Chevron (environmental crimes)
and Tyson Foods (public corruption) - yet all bombard us with ads saying
they have our best interests at heart. I believe that as much as I believe
Jeffrey Dahmer meant his victims well.
   You may say that mere deception, lies and other greed aren't comparable
to serial killing. What about those companies that violate human rights
or kill en masse? The Pitt News of September 6th brings up the case of
Myanmar, where oil companies put in place a pipeline project enforced by
military officials relying upon forced labor akin to slavery, as even
UNOCAL's former president admits. Another oil company, Shell, has far
greater sins to atone for. Shell has gained $30 billion from oil from the
land of the Ogoni people in Nigeria - meanwhile, they've armed the corrupt
regime of Nigeria, which has killed 2,000 Ogoni people. Shell has also
funded this same government, ensuring continued slaughter of the Ogoni,
while polluting the streams, leaving the Ogoni with no way to fish, as
they used to do to sustain themselves.
   To cite another example of U.S. corporations screwing over Africans, we
can look at DeBeers. DeBeers controls 85% of the world's diamond trade.
Many of those diamonds come from Sierra Leone, from rebels who have
killed, raped and stole. DeBeers claims they don't buy from Sierra Leone -
which is true - they merely buy diamonds from Liberia, which has almost no
diamonds, and which serves as a middleman in the operation. Ian Smilie,
author of a book on the topic, said, "The diamond industry, in effect, is
just looking the other way on this whole business. These are called
Liberian diamonds and everyone knows they're not." In effect, De Beers is
helping fund rebels who have led to the death of tens of thousands and the
loss of homes for hundreds of thousands (or millions, if you use other
sources).
   A local company, Alcoa, led to massive rainforest flooding, was among
the top 100 companies in toxic waste emissions and had over 200 workers
poisoned by toxic waste emissions. They were hit with millions of dollars
in fines in the 90s. Where is the local reporting on this major criminal
in our very neighborhoods?
   Even in America death results from corporate crime. Over 60,000
Americans die yearly from traumatic injuries on the job or from
work-related diseases - yet the median penalty for serious workplace
crimes is just $709. While hundreds of thousands of workers died
in the workplace in the past 30 years, ONE business executive
went to jail for violating occupational safety and health laws. Companies
literally are getting away with murder.


   Mischa Gelman suggests not to buy anything from criminals. His email
address is megst19+@pitt.edu