Forum Post: Wal-Mart covers up bribery and promotes chief player.
Posted 11 years ago on April 22, 2012, 4:19 p.m. EST by factsrfun
(8310)
from Phoenix, AZ
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Here’s a link to the full story.
Will anyone go to jail this time?
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/business/at-wal-mart-in-mexico-a-bribe-inquiry-silenced.html?_r=1
thought I should bring this back up
I'm done with Walmart.
Walmart is not the only one.... I'm glad this came out now, the timing could not been better, since it will help us with our case. When people know things like this are happening under their noses, they are more receptive to news about similar or even worse corruption. So it is great news, for us all. Not a fan of walmart but now I'll be even less of a fan, I'm through. SHAME on walmart, I will not go into that store again. BC
it is good for people to know truth, no matter how bad that truth is
these people knew then promoted the key player into the number two spot in the whole company, and we put people in jail for shoplifting $50 bucks out of a store, but this guy could cost them billions and will never go to jail
Yes, I am in full accord. I am in the business of exposing truth also, so people awareness will be key, we need to expose corruption on all fronts. God bless
looks like the story may have legs, heard a little more today, we give these people so much power, or at least we allow them to aquire it, we should look at who they are
The fact that the activity happened so long ago and that the company has obviously swept it under the rug, should have opened them to prosecution under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The FBI has known and, I assume, other relevant agencies so where are the indictments? Where are the prosecutors? Is this further evidence of government corruption? Was the Mexican government informed and when? Are the managers involved part of the 1%? I await the tap dancing of other dropping shoes.
A central payer became vice CEO of Wal-Mart so I would think 1% for sure, this was not low level people millions were involed. Yes there seems to be voilations of the self reportin requirements, in this case it looks like Wal-Mart promoted instead od reported.
What I have read shows several of the home office staff were aware and indeed involved in decisions that can't be interpreted as other than avoiding doing the responsible and the legal thing and send the the problem to the obvious culprits to white wash and cover up what was going on in a scale that must be labeled "pervasive" in Mexico and seems to be "here let us show you how to do this right."
If they had took the money and put it in their own pockets, would the company have treated it the same?
I am confident that they would have been outraged and would have called for law enforcement immediately not years later, oh, and the press, as well. But of course, that wouldn't have increased their bonuses.
It’s almost like they authorized the use of funds.
Sure but it was a coded line item. The were smarter than to put in a line for "bribes".
Gonna be kind of embarrassing if the Mexican government announces a bunch of indictments, that just happen to include most of Walmart's home office executives. Not just for Walmart, (Whose employees are not pleased in the least) but how about the FBI, the SEC, Homeland Security, and the Dept. of Justice, to name a few who have known about this since 2006.
Who was President then? Do you suppose they told their new bosses when a new administration came in? Nothing like the odor of a good scandal?
didn't hear about the indictments I'll have to read about that, this could be a long unfolding story
Stay tuned, film at 11:00.
Starting to fade already, I wonder if Wal-Mart spends much on advertising?
If so, it definitely buys influence on news coverage or the lack thereof.
I would think so....
Probably not. Possibly Cicero.
When money is king, the King has the biggest pile,
The Wall-Street Journal has started the white wash:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303978104577360283629622556.html
Here Reuters’ explains it’s just the game.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/23/us-walmart-mexico-idUSBRE83M01820120423
I worked for nuc plant top guys covered up a “small” thing the NRC went right along, I was on the inside of this one, not just guessing here.
Good time to invest in white wash stocks. They are going a need a lot of it.
one story on MSNBC this morning, I think it will be interesting to see how FOX deals with it, they love Wal-Mart but hate Mexico, should be fun to watch
Yep it will. I would think RICO would also apply. There seems to be a conspiracy that goes both ways between Bentonville and Mexico. Next question is where else is Walmart turning a blind eye to subsidiary corruption?
I am stunned by the silence of all federal agencies, since the FBI (for one) has been aware for years.
I think you've taken care of the deficit problem, good job!
Well, corruption being the largest component of our GDP, (they sometimes call it financial services) it only makes sense to legalize it and tax it. Right?
I was thinking seizing all those Wal-Mart stores through RICO,
Makes sense to me. Now I hear similar things were going on in Honduras. My guess is that it was pervasive and most of corporate management in Arkansas were aware of it.
only take a few dollars for RICO to kick in, now let's see if they got the guts to go for it
Right the fines have been all over the map, About $800 million down to $8 million based possibly on the scope of management complicity, but that is still not clear.
Financial analysts are talking about hundreds of millions for Walmart. Couldn't happen to nicer guys, if proven.
I do hope the fine is enough to get their attention, they're big, I know they won't seze the whole thing with RICO but they should, imgaine all the Wal-Marts across the country being acutioned off to Mom & Pops.
That could be fun to watch. Franchises?
Maybe that’s the answer, a big government auction for all the companies that are doing so poorly, they don’t even pay any tax at all, how many would that be I wonder? Maybe the guys who bought them could figure out how to make a profit and pay tax, that would be good for everyone.
How about, "No Representation Without Taxation" for the corporations and the rich? If they couldn't buy politicians, they would have influence relative to the amount of tax they pay. Government would be reluctance to implement policies that would reduce government's revenue. More taxes, more influence.
And he may be one of the best of the sorry lot.
"No Representation Without Taxation" kinda like it but getting close to the guy who wants you to get one vote for every $1,000 in tax you pay, so just saying....
The saying used to go "No Taxation with out representation".
The people find themselves in that position again as the government is no longer representing them.
Thank God for the Birth of OWS and "ALL" of the movements against greed corruption and white collar crime.
Time to reclaim representation.
It was off the top of my head and not a serious proposal. A real one should be progressive. But as a slogan...?
I know, just that "facts" thing radar I guess, yeah not bad, "Get your money gurbbing hands off my government", but that's way too long, "Corporate concerns to the back of the line" still too long...
What is a slogan? "A blatant oversimplification calculated more to incite than inform"- brightonsage 2012. But they are such fun to make up. The best ones have clever acronyms. Bullets Kill. BK?See, no acronym. Power Corrupts - PC? Already used. Caution: GOP written on heel - Fun but CGOPWOH? Nothing. Repelicons eat pink slime - REPS? Hey, not too bad!
Corporate Agents Thread Shit, CATS, opps ran too long
Cash In Government Sucks, CIGS (they will also kill you)
Republican Urges Need Taming, RUNT
You are definitely on the right track. Isn't this as much fun as facts? Or asking a Repelicon to use "social" and "justice" in a sentence?
it is fun, but hard compare to slapping down trolls, I get your point, have you seen these?
http://occupywallst.org/forum/how-about-a-few-fundamentals-about-capitalism/
http://occupywallst.org/forum/fundamentals-of-capitalism-part-two/
I think you have read enough of my posts to notice that I am a serious guy. I am a serious guy with a sense of humor. It is an escape for me and perhaps therapy and sometimes a way to make serious points. The "social" and "justice" comment is a riddle with a point. You know that a Republican can not even say those two word in sequence. It is because they really can't acknowledge that such a concept exists or even should exist.
The question of how healthcare is provided can be argued on many levers, and should be. But like problem solving, Problems should be solved at the lowest level possible because it will usually involve the one's with most at stake in getting it right. There are cases where that probably isn't true , although I am not prepared to name them all.
Healthcare was universal and, I think, free in the indigenous tribes when we came here. It wasn't very good, but the medicine man and some of the older women were the medical experts and may have received gifts for services but it believe it was informal, and not standardized Since then it has gotten complicated.
But all of our problems are not the result of size. Governance at my local level is also corrupt. About the same level of corruption, I would judge qualitatively. Perhaps it would be easier to try out solutions on a smaller scale that fiddling around with experiments with 350 million lives at stake.
I am willing to see multiple experiments at lower levels in order to save time. But there is an urgency to fixing the gross financial trends that will take us off a cliff, pretty soon. So break out the band aids, one more time. Or maybe, one last time.
The main problem I have with the “smaller” question is that for most people that means more decided at the state level, I have problems with that on two fronts, first I am an American first, don’t really even think of myself as an Arizonan since I moved here as an adult, so I think Americans should all have certain rights to live free of undue government or employer interference with their lives. Secondly I feel that state legislators are even easier and cheaper to buy than the federal ones, in two ways, they play ball or they get buried by money next time around. There are some cases of this with judges too where the case was going against a moneyed interest. So of course public funding.
What I do here is two things, besides play with trolls, one is to provide real time pushback to the days right wing talking point, not that anyone will use it but it feels good to know that I put one out there, and the other is to reshape the way that people think of government which has been distorted by the right for many years mostly through the work of think tanks using the tool of talking points.
I figure after I get those two things done I’ll move on to the harder stuff :).
Noble work, and I enjoy the posts. I doubt anything will get done in time to have a material effect on me. I chalk it up to legacy. I think there are a lot of us in that category.
oh me too, but I got a kid, we didn't get here overnight, even though it feels that way to some, we won't fix it quick, maybe not at all, it is hard to know sometimes, most I know are just letting things unfold, I understand the position, at least a little, but is the work only for ourselves do we not speak truth whenever we might? anyway it is always hard to know, and certainly more peace can be found up on the trail.
I can't belive this isn't getting more play on the 24/7 cycle seems like big news to me.
So the FBI (who knew about this for a long time) is now investigating. And how about the SEC? The State Department? A joint investigation with the Mexican (sort of) government which might finally be less corrupt than our own? (Not because they got better, sadly.)
Just did this sreach:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&gl=us&tbm=nws&q=Wal-Mart+Mexico&oq=Wal-Mart+Mexico&aq=0&aqi=d1g1d1&aql=&gs_l=news-cc.1.0.43j0j43i400.6684.14403.0.18529.15.4.0.11.11.0.111.384.3j1.4.0...0.0.
All kinds of stuff about Wal-Mart repairing things, not much about the money gurbing basters that got away with this for years. I don't see a hint of jail.
Jail, what jail? Hell, there is money to be made.
taxes and jail are for the "little people"
Yeah, it is OK to slip through the cracks but not through the bars.
I see today that the investigation is being widened and the company position has changed saying it wasn't "material and wouldn't affect the performance of the company" to, mum's the word.
An analyst, on the other hand, said it was very significant.
and right I thought it was about breaking the law, I forgot it;s about the money of course, we can only hope it's significant for somebody
I took the comment to mean that there is evidence of more high level players involved and if they are all prosecuted, the management team may look much different than it does now. (Might look better to some, worse to others.)
Another way to interpret it is, I think it was BAE that had an $800 million fine? What if these guys get hit with a few $billion? Either scenario might have a significant impact on share price.
Do you really think with thier media clout they could get hit that hard? Maybe.
I was thinking even if anybody at all even the mid level got held to the standards most do they would be jail time, but in this case I doubt it, I think it's possible for turnover at the top if they press it, but don't think that will change behavior, overall, ther is a patern of womens rights, overtime, immagrates, abuse in area after area, the bahavior hasn't changed. oh and "off the clock work"
I would be sceptical also. However, when I saw the analyst using language that was clearly cautioning investors that the exposure was real and appeared to be growing in scope based on some new but unspecified disclosures I thought about BAE and some other settlements that I remember reading that were for amounts that were more than slaps on the wrist. And I thought that given the size of Walmart, what it would take to actually punish them enough to make them feel it, the number would have to be $billions.
Or the other scenario, lets project the loss of the CEO and 30% of their management team. I don't have any idea how that would affect their projected performance, but in the short term it is the level of concern it would present to shareholders. If they run for the exits, it could take some time for average performance to bring the stock price back to current levels.
Good Post
Thank you,
I wonder if they sell bribes at a discount? Just askin'
Question: What do you get when you ask a Repelican to use the words "Social" and "Justice" in a sentence?
Answer: Silence The joke is they don't believe in either, so have dropped them from their lexicon. (Here Repelicans, let me help you with that. The lexicon (or wordstock) of a language is its vocabulary.)
Amazon isn't any better. Please don't think that shopping Amazon is the ethical choice. They may actually be worse once their impact is fully revealed.
I would like to see the law applied to all equally
Yes, me too. Wanted to get that out there because it is wrong for people to boycott Wal Mart, shop Amazon, and believe that they are shopping ethically. Have you read about their labor conditions? Documentation is accurate, I know because I worked there. Amazon should be protested for myriad reasons, not just labor alone.
I've heard a little about Amazon's working conditions. They are definitely on my boycott list, as well as Wal-Mart, of course.
Check out this piece from Allentown's Morning Call if you haven't already. I'm intimately familiar with what is described within -- I worked there. I was one of the inside informants and the reporting is remarkably accurate.
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/amazon/mc-allentown-amazon-complaints-20110917,0,6503103.story
I'd heard some of those stories, like having ambulances parked outside during hot days. What a hell-hole. Thanks for the link.
No problem, thank you for your interest. Please spread the word.
'Will anyone go to jail this time?" I doubt any were black.
Now, come on nobody put Micheal Steele in jail, but they should, the Walmart hiers should be going.
Walmart made china rich.
They conspire with holders of debt to own us all.
The waltons were chinas frontman.
still are
[Removed]
[Removed]
[Removed]
Thanks for posting this. Word is getting out.
saw another one up too so that's good, sorry about the downvotes got some trolls chasing me
I will vote you up now. LOL!
Thanks, it gets to where you want to watch what you say so you don't let people down, but this forum is where the new ideas about how to talk about wealth will be created, when we learn how to talk about it, we will learn how to fairly share it.
Don't ever pull any punches for the sake of a karma score, and if the trolls are chasing you that just means you're doing something right:)
not really known for pulling punches.....myself, nor you from what I've seen,
not to over state it, I just mean as x-sailor I don't use all my words, at least not all the time, if you know what I mean
LOL! Yeah, I know what you mean. That's a good reminder to keep the discourse on the high road. I've been slipping in that area a bit lately.
I do my best to keep "the seven words" out of the first few so they don't trail down the sidebar, but I'm not always able to, some people need plain speach.
It seems to me that gets more difficult to refrain from them as your opponents level of intelligence diminishes.
true, the frontline was good at laying out a few things, looking forward to next week
ForumSpeak: The True Meanings of "Spam", "Troll" and "Karma":
spam : Any forum posting that (a) conflicts with either the forum moderators' agenda or groupthink consensus; or (b) any other forum member disagrees with, doesn't like, fears or otherwise does not wish to see posted.
troll : Any forum member who posts "spam" as defined above.
karma : A numerical measure of forum groupthink contribution, conformity and compliance that says nothing about the virtues of the poster or the veracity of their postings.
all hail keeper of the golden rules
may we confer quietly in your luminous presence
LOL "LO fuckin L" shit I sprayed coffee on my keyboard.
You got to love these guys never said shit anybody wanted to read and they're going whine about people who point them out and laugh when they show their asses.
They are not here to contribute. Just to "try" to taunt.
check my new post should get'em all shook up
Will do. I love to rattle the chains of the greedy corrupt and their supporters.
http://occupywallst.org/forum/how-about-a-few-fundamentals-about-capitalism/
in case it bubbles off
Thanks it never hurts to include the link.
Real activists never ask for permission and rarely ask for forgiveness.
But if - like most Sheeple - you can't cut a fart without begging for one or the other, then feel free to relax your sphincter yet again and let it fly. Poser...
Ja mijn vriend maar kalm te behagen ! Good 'forum-post' but you're new so ease up there and look at frf's very first comment at the top of the thread. Save your ire for the deserving !! pax et lux ...
GypsyKing is not an American... or at least not an American living in America. And the fact that he/she/it suggests otherwise is deserving of ire. American or not, GypsyKing is a Democratic Party operative attempting to co-opt Occupy protesters into the failed and corrupt corporate-controlled Demopublican two-party system. Are you here to help MoveOn sell Obama buttons at 99 Spring training sessions as well, "Shadz66"?
IF it is "waarheid" you truly seek ... .. circumspice !!!
OR is it "waarheid" you claim to uniquely possess ?!
verbum satis sapienti !
shadz you will remember - who was that shithead who everyone and I mean every one had a good time slapping just to watch it froth at the mouth and rant? It never seemed to wise up to that fact that it was the source of much humor.
i tan i epi tas, poser.
TCH, Tch, tch !!! Lots of heat but little light !! temet nosce !
That 'heat' that you feel, coming from warthead?
It's entirely from friction, as in the friction of one's hand stroking . . . ah, well, you know.
Shadz: our "sage on (at) another stage."
Y'mean Mother Fist and her Five Daughters ?! He'll go blind !! Dunno 'bout "sage" but on the subject of things herbal - there is not much 'thyme' for real change in "The United Sates if Amnesia" (Gore Vidal) as Overt Fascism creeps ever closer !! And on that happy note ... later 'gno(sis)' !!!
pax, amor et lux ...
[Removed]
There is ire in your fire put it is misplaced. I'm not American and so what ? No matter where GK's from.
My multilingual one liners do not extend to the conceit of calling myself "Truth" - albeit in Dutch !!!
Calm down (wo)man and try putting "user:" followed by the user's moniker - in your case the ever so slightly bombastic 'waarheid' and you can see the list of that posters threads and then you'll have some data to come to any conclusions or impressions !!
Do unto others as you would have done & all that !
bonne chance ...
oh so that's who you are, you're the GOP, should of got it from the name war-head
just who the fuck are you anyway?
you just digging the party?
you really have no clue do you?
I hope you are right. I know I'm not giving up anytime soon.
nation building is a multiyear project
If I am interpreting your statement correctly.
Full time employment for life - for everyone who cares.
As this is something - building and maintaining a healthy and prosperous nation for all - is a never ending work in process. A system with processes that must be improved as time passes and things change.
I don't at all disagree with what you said.
I do believe that in a very real way we will have to rebuild our nation, it's polical, and ecomonic system to achieve a sustaintable system.
Too much noise over nothing. In countries like Mexico, China, India, Russia, Brazil etc bribery is a way of life. Even to get your legitimate work done, companies need to regularly bribe officials. I don't expect Walmart to be a saint or protest against a system in another country. Few years ago, one of the companies I had worked for, Sun Microsystems, was accused of bribery in US. I am not sure what happened to that case now but I don't really blame them entirely. In third world countries you have to bribe else you are screwed because corruption in entrenched at all levels of govt and public life.
pimps often have to break the law to conduct their business too, but when we catch them we put them jail
Bad allegory. Ever tried doing business in any of these countries? It would be fun to watch you actually practicing all this idealism in real world. When the whole system is crooked you don't score any brownie points by being straight.
What do you think a company should do?
Talk about a crooked system try making a buck in America.
ever try to make it on the street?
slingin' crack or selling sex is all some have, but that doesn't mean we don't put the ones we catch in jail, even though it doesn't stop, you think just because this is big business it should get a pass?
You still don't get it, do you. If the only way a company can get a permit, despite all legalities and paper work being proper, is to bribe the government then I don't see the company has much choice. When you have to bribe to even do what is legal, you can't help.
so the bribe is illegal but the business is legal, let's see if you can "get it" selling crack is illegal, but buying dinner with the money is legal, what if you have to do something illegal to do something legal?
What is it you don't understand?
In the real world you say I can't do it if I can't do it legally, I think that's easy to see.
I do not see much point in this discussion. You wanna be self righteous, suit yourself.
I want the law to apply to all equally, rich and poor alike.
More rhetorical nonsense and sloganeering. And in countries like Mexico corrruption applies equally to all, rich or poor. You wanna get something done by a bureaucrat, you gotta bribe. Doesn't matter what you bank balance is or if you are Walmart.
are you saying in Mexico they don't put poor people in jail for drugs? You would be wrong about that.
You think that if your goal is to make money and you'er rich and wear a suit the law should not apply to you, that is imperial nonsense that the wealthy have been getting away with for years.
Onlt 5% for cases go to court, because the DAs use the fact that most don't have the money to defend themself buckle under, case in point Zimmerman lawyer says that it will cost a million to defend his case do you think the public defenders office ever spennds a million on one case?
Thje biggest myth in America is that anybody gets justice under our system.
We aren't talking about drugs. We are talking about corruption is govt that stifles legitimate private enterprise, makes life of common people tough by asking for bribes and so on.
You wanna face facts. The fact is, any business whether a one person setup or a Walmart, needs to routinely pay bribes to get paper work done. In many cases, you can't even start a business without bribes, however legit the business activity may be.
See people like you, who like to be self righteous sitting in your parent's basement and never have and never will have to do business in any of those countries, can get up on ur high horse all you want. People who actually have to face these hurdles on a daily basis really understand how it is.
sounds like the same excusses used by pimps and drug dealers to me
you think feeding into the coruption is OK as long as the people you apporve are doing it that's the bottom line
no body has to do business there certainly not Wal-Mart it is a choice like following the law or not
They may find some meaningless bum to humiliate over it, like they did with Barney Frank.
You don't like Wal Mart? Don't shop there. Speaking of jail, how many OWS maggots have been put there? Thousands!
And if you don't like taxes don't make money I get it