Its fascinating, whether its two hoods picked up for robbing a liquor store, or an accountant and a manager charged with fraud, the pattern is the same. They point the finger at each other. Only we know how to put the hoods away. Putting the upper crust of corporate society away, is a different matter. Although, recently we have made an example of some scapegoats does anyone seriously believe that we will handle them the way we handle the common criminal. Of course, we deny their crininality, at least until they get caught.

The retail robber analogy only goes so far, Ron. It may appear that the "upper crust" is treated differently, but the reality is that knowledge work requires a myriad of judgments close to ethical and legal lines. Taken together, a series of acts by accountants may seem like brazen criminals, but each likely entailed analysis of the judgment in question.

That's why the justice system seems to treat these folks differently. Oh, and maybe because experience tells us that, despite having ample means to flee, corporate-types tend to stay around to face the music.

So, they may be guilty as charged, but the organization (and maybe most of the actors) probably thought they were walking the right side of the line.