Everyone always admires those people who do the right thing no matter what the consequences. Conversely, people despise those who lie, cheat and con their way to wealth. After a certain point in life, it doesn’t even make sense to be dishonest.

There are two articles today about this. Enron’s top execs Skilling and Lay were both incredibly wealthy before the Enron mess. Their personal fortunes, upwards of $50 million each were enough to live a great life without the additional 100’s of millions in Enron stock. Now both are faced with spending their retirement years in prison and having their wealth depleted by legal fees and fines. McAfee’s general counsel Kent Roberts was also fired today for an improper options grant that occurred in 2006.

You spend your whole life building a good rep and it only takes one wrong step to mess that up. And atleast the fear of jail should keep people honest.The ramifications are particularly bad when white-collar employees embezzle money. The jail term is usually greater than that metted out to murders and molesters. Another good reason to keep your hands clean!