By Stephen Gray
Who would have believed that the perfect heist would
have blown up in the face of the family. It had been
an inside job and the loot had been looted
“legitimately.” The job had been committed without
violence and without threats. It looked like a clean
getaway and another family success. Friends of the
family got a piece of the action and even the cops got
some of the money. It was the heist of the century. A
numbers racket beyond compare and perfectly “legal.”
Then a smart accountant started to study the books of
the firm. The accountant said money was unaccounted
for, false invoices had been written and cheques
cashed without work being done. The scam was exposed
for all to see. Still nobody went to jail and it was
said there was not much of a paper trail. The old boss
still as confident as ever was quoted in a newspaper
as saying: “Perhaps there were a few million dollars
that might have been stolen in the process.” He was
right on the money with that statement. In fact a lot
of people thought the candor of the old boss was
refreshing. Still, at least the money went to a good
cause. The family was still in power and friends of
the family got some of the money. Everybody was one
big happy family, until now.
Now there was trouble within the family and many
members were running scared. Questions were now being
asked of family members. Even the cops were now
investigating the heist. Great! So much for gratitude,
the cops got some of the money then they investigate
themselves and the family!!! Whatever happened to
loyalty? The family was starting to come apart. Soon
they would be squealing on each other. Stool pigeons
were perched to squawk. Some of the family were
accusing each other of vendettas and tampering with
other family members. A quote in a newspaper said a
family member knew, “where the bodies were buried.”
Another family member said, he had been “branded like
a criminal” and that the only blame he would take, was
that there was a “system failure.” Another guy was
quoted as saying: “ I’m not going to incriminate
myself.” The code of silence was being broken. People
were now ratting on each other. Members of the family
were threatening to sue the family. Ethics and
morality had gone missing along with the money. One of
the heads of the family even said the money would be
returned if the family had some. This made other
family members mad. Was this guy admitting money had
been stolen? After all, he had been looking after the
families finances for years so he should know where
all the money went.
But he said he didn’t know. Still, he was not the only
one who didn’t know. All the family were in a state of
denial. Nobody was going to take the blame and nobody
was going to take responsibility. The family would
tough it out. This was their territory; they still
held the power. They still had hatchet men and guys
who could lean on those who wouldn’t cooperate. Just
ask an ethical banker who questioned a loan. The
family sent in the cops and other heavies to try and
ruin his reputation. Nobody messes with the family
without repercussions. The family was the law and the
law was the family. Even the judges were appointed by
the family.
Many of the people whose money had been stolen still
idolized the family. They were still supportive of the
family’s power structure. These people could always be
depended upon, when the time came, to endorse the
family. This was more than loyalty; this was blind
stupidity. But this was why the family had the power.
They knew you could do anything to these silly people
and they would come back for more. For these were the
family’s zombies, unquestioning and unable to think.
They liked being robbed and the family liked taking
their money.
The heist money would never be returned. The family
would come out of this stronger than ever. Their power
was assured because they had the numbers and numbers
count when the chips are down. The inquiries into the
missing money would take years to conclude. Many
people would get work from the inquiries. It was a
win, win situation. After all, out of evil comes good.
The good in this case was jobs for the boys and girls
of the investigating team. A great make work project.
The family would continue business as usual. The
missing money would stay missing and the heist of the
century would soon be long forgotten. In fact it was
said that other families in other places were now
looking at this way of doing business. Why resort to
crudities, violence and strongarming to commit robbery
when this kind of thing can be pulled off as a “legal”
heist?
Stephen Gray graysinfo@telus.net website
http://www.oocities.org/graysinfo