Top 100 Corporate Crime Stories of 2011

Published on Saturday, December 17, 2011 by Corporate Crime Reporter Top 100 Corporate Crime Stories of 2011 by Russell Mokhiber Here's the other difference between the one percent and the rest of us – The crimes of the one percent inflict far more damage on society than those of the 99 percent. And they tend to get away with their crimes. While we tend to get nailed. The big multinational corporations, which are the primary delivery systems of wealth to the 99 percent, have rigged the justice system so that when they get in trouble with the law, they either aren't prosecuted for their crimes, of if they are, they get special treatment – non prosecution or deferred prosecution agreements. If they end up in the civil courts, they also get special deals – like neither admit nor deny consent decrees. True, they pay fines, often in the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, but this is pocket change to them – the equivalent of a parking ticket for serious wrongdoing. They marinate the halls of power with campaign cash, flood them with lobbyists, and lubricate the revolving door – all to undermine our system of justice. Out of the more than 500 stories we've written for Corporate Crime Reporter this year, here are the Top 100 – selected by our crack editorial team. Just scan the the headlines, and you'll get a sense of the enormity of the corporate crime wave. And remember – Corporate Crime Reporter is only a weekly newsletter. We publish 48 times a year. We're considering making it a daily – just to keep up. Top 100 Corporate Crime Stories of 2011 100. SEC Delivers First Non Pros Baby 99. Simon Johnson: Break Up the Big Banks 98. Grassley Asks: Why are Health Care Fraud Cases Stagnating? 97. Guidant to Pay $296 Million for FDA Crimes 96. Former Chase Bank Official Convicted of Taking Bribes 95. Oregon Sues Johnson & Johnson for Phatom Recall of Motrin 94. Grain Elevator Deaths Due to Lax OSHA Enforcement 93. Insider Trading Defendants Avoid Jail in 44 Percent of Cases 92. Lockheed to Pay $2 Million to Resolve False Claims Charge 91. Grossman Drafts Legislation to Criminalize the Corporate Form 90. Pentagon Spent Billions on Companies that Committed Fraud 89. Legal Challenge to Blanket Immunity in BAE Settlement 88. Maxwell Gets FCPA Prosecution Deferred, Pays $8 Million Criminal Fine 87. Nader Calls Jeep Grand Cherokee Modern Day Pinto for Soccer Moms 86. Oracle to Pay $46 Million To Settle False Claims Charge 85. Coalition: Negligent Doctors and Big Pharma Should Not Be Shielded 84. Chevron Found Guilty in Ecuador, Fined $9 Billion 83. Tyson Foods Gets Prosecution Deferred, Pays $4 Million FCPA Fine 82. Rolling Stone: Why Isn't Wall Street in Jail? 81. Criminal Investigation Against Mozilo Closed 80. Horizon Lines to Plead Guilty, Pay $45 Million Criminal Fine 79. Walmart State and Local Tax Avoidance Exceeds $400 Million Annually 78. Wheelchair Fraud Results in $6 Million Fine 77. Feds Intervene in False Claims Case against KBR 76. Jack Abramoff, Whipping Boy 75. HHS Fines Cignet Health $4.3 Million 74. Arch Coal to Pay $4 Million 73. Forest Pharma Hit with $145 in Criminal Penalties 72. Goldman Sachs Board Member Charged with Insider Trading 71. CSPI Urges Feds to Ban Caramel Color from Sodas 70. Avaya and CIT Group Pay over $16.5 Million To Settle False Claims Case 69. Two NY York Lawmakers, Albany Lobbyist, Hospital CEOs Busted in Corruption Probe 68. USA Today: Fines Not Being Collected 67. The Dark Side of the Cruise Ship Industry and the Silence of The Nation Magazine 66. Audit Firms: Too Few to Fail? 65. Astrazeneca to Pay $68.5 to Settle Anti-Psychotic Drug Case 64. Japan Nuclear Reactor Design Caused GE Scientist to Quit in Protest 63. Chamber Hires Mukasey to Weaken FCPA 62. Consol to Pay $5.5 Pollution Fine 61. French Judge Charges Airbus with Manslaughter 60. Heart Association Endorses Stomach Surgery after $100K Gift from Lap-Band Maker 59. IBM to Pay $10 Million to Settle FCPA Action 58. Samsung SDI to Pay $32 Million Criminal Fine 57. PG&E to Pay $6 Million Criminal Fine 56. Occidental Oil to Pay $2 Million in False Claims Case 55. HHS Launches Health Care Fraud Fugitive List 54. How Milton Friedman and Chicago Economics Undermined America 53. Rakoff Rips Neither Admit Nor Deny SEC Settlements 52. Insider Trading Scandal Hits Congress 51. Antitrust Institute: T Mobile/AT&T Merger Anti-Competitive 50. Cell Phones, Brain Cancer and Devra Davis 49. JGC Gets FCPA Prosecution Deferred, Will Pay $218.8 Million Criminal Penalty 48. Verizon Pays $93.5 Million To Resolve False Claim Charge 47. Comverse Technology Gets Non Prosecution FCPA Agreement 46. Johnson & Johnson Gets FCPA Prosecution Deferred, to Pay $21.4 Million Criminal Penalty 45. Spitzer Calls on Holder to Prosecute Goldman Sachs or Resign 44. Stokes Sours on Obama's Antitrust Effort 43. Honeywell Pleads Guilty, to Pay $11.8 Million 42. NPR, Electric Trolleys and Corporate Crime 41. Warren: Banks Want to Knife Consumer Bureau in the Ribs 40. DynCorp to Pay $8.7 Million to Settle False Claims Charge 39. Serono Pays $44 Million to Settle False Claims Charge 38. UBS Gets Non Pros Agreement, to Pay $160 Million 37. 29 Coal Miners Dead and Alpha Gets Non Prosecution Agreement 36. FedEx to Pay $8 Million to Settle False Claims Probe 35. Andy Cochran and the Coming War Between Constitutionalists and Corporatists 34. Quest Diagnostics in $241 Settlement 33. Wall Street Analyst: Goldman Too Big to Prosecute 32. Fresenius Ordered To Pay $82.6 Million 31. Friedrichs Baffled by NYT's Claim That Major Crimes are in Decline (Answer: NYT Didn't Look at Corporate Crime) 30. Novo Nordisk to Pay $25 Million to Settle False Claims Charge 29. Still No Criminal Charge in 2007 Utah Mine Disaster 28. Whistleblowers Call on Public Interest Groups to Rescind Obama Transparency Award 29. Fluor Corporation to Pay $4 Million to Settle False Claims Charge 28. Anadarko, Kerr-McGee To Pay $17 Million to Settle False Claims Charge 27. JP Morgan to Pay $153.6 Million To Settle SEC Probe 26. 60 Minutes: Why No Wall Street Prosecutions? 25. Boeing Overcharged Army Millions for Spare Helicopter Parts 24. MHSA: Massey Kept Two Sets of Books 23. State AGs Settle with Glaxo for $40 Million 22. Antitrust Activists Feel Sucker Punched as Varney Leaves to Cravath 21. JP Morgan Chase to Pay $92 Million in Bid Rigging Case 20. Armor Holdings Gets Non Pros FCPA Agreement, to Pay $10 Million Criminal Penalty 19. Kentucky Nursing Home Accused in Deaths of Five Residents 18. Richard Grossman 1943-2011 17. Dickie Scruggs, Huey Long and the Politics of Crime in Mississippi 16. SEC Charges Liquor Giant Diego with FCPA Violations 15. Pew Report Hits Water Pollution from Chicken Plants 14. Wachovia Gets Non Pros Agreement, to Pay $148 Million 13. Taibbi: Is the SEC Covering Up Wall Street Crimes? 12. Jane Barrett on the Need for a Federal Workplace Homicide Statute 11. Gary Aguirre Says Shut Down the SEC, Start Over 10. Chevron to Pay $24 Million to Settle SEC Lawsuit 9. Maxim Healthcare Gets Prosecution Deferred, to Pay $150 Million 8. Accenture to Pay $68 Million to Settle False Claims Charge 7. Amoco to Pay $20 Million to Settle False Claims Charge 6. Oracle to Pay $199 Million to Resolve False Claims Charge 5. Activists Draft Law to Criminalize Fracking 4. Judge Rakoff Throws Out SEC/Citigroup Settlement 3. Pfizer to Pay $14 Million to Settle False Claims Charge 2. UMW Says UBB Mine Disaster Was Industrial Homicide 1. Glaxo to Pay $3 Billion to Settle False Claims Charge Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime Reporter.  He is also founder ofsinglepayeraction.org, and editor of the website Morgan County USA. Dr. S. Akhtar Ehtisham (607) 776-3336 P.O. Box 469, Bath NY 14810 USA Blog syedehtisham.blogspot.com All religions try to take over the establishment and if they fail, they collaborate with it, be it feudal or capitalist.

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