NCJ Number
47130
Editor(s)
J M JOHNSON,
J D DOUGLAS
Date Published
1978
Length
359 pages
Annotation
THE COMPLEX, OFTEN PROBLEMATICAL AND CONFUSING SOCIAL AND LEGAL DEFINITIONS OF THIS MOST PERVASIVE FORM OF DEVIANCE ARE EXPLORED.
Abstract
THE NATURE OF FINANCIAL DEVIANCE WITHIN THE MIDDLE AND UPPER LEVELS OF BUSINESS AND THE PROFESSIONS IS EXAMINED IN A SELECTION OF ARTICLES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. SECTIONS DEALING WITH THE NATURE, IMPACT, AND THE PROSECUTION OF WHITE-COLLAR CRIME SERVE AS AN INTRODUCTION. NEXT, THE EFFECTS AND MEANS OF BUSINESS DEVIANCE IN DAILY LIFE ARE NOTED; A STUDY OF THE BURGLAR ALARM BUSINESS, THE SOCIAL MEANING OF EMPLOYEE THEFT, THE FINANCIAL VICTIMIZATION OF ELDERLY CARED FOR IN NURSING HOMES, AND AN ARIZONA LAND FRAUD CONTROVERSY ARE DETAILED. SECURITIES FRAUD, PRICE-FIXING, AND OTHER HIGH-LEVEL FINANCIAL PRACTICES ARE DISCUSSED, INCLUDING THE EQUITY FUNDING CASE, CRIMINAL PRACTICES ON WALL STREET, AND THE LOCKHEED SCANDAL OF 1975. PROFESSIONAL DEVIANCE, WHICH HAS RARELY BEEN CONSIDERED IN SOCIOLOGICAL STUDIES, OFTEN OVERLAPS BUSINESS DEVIANCE. THIS IS SEEN IN MAJOR QUESTIONS CONCERNING POSSIBLE INVOLVEMENT OF PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANTS IN FRAUD CASES. PROFESSIONAL WRONGDOING OFTEN HAS FAR MORE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES FOR THE CLIENTS INVOLVED; MEDICAL MALPRACTICE MAY RESULT IN LOSS OF LIFE AND LEGAL MALPRACTICE IN YEARS OF PRISON CONFINEMENT FOR ESSENTIALLY INNOCENT CLIENTS. THE SALE OF MEDICAL DEGREES, CRISES FACED BY PATIENTS, OFFICIAL VIOLENCE MASKED UNDER A VEIL OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT, AND THE PRACTICE OF LAW AS A CONFIDENCE GAME, ARE DETAILED. THE LAST CHAPTERS ARE PRIMARILY CONCERNED WITH THE MAJOR SOLUTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN PROPOSED IN RECENT YEARS WITH REGARD TO SPECIFIC FORMS OF PROFESSIONAL AND BUSINESS DEVIANCE. CRIMINAL SANCTION IN THE ENFORCEMENT OF ECONOMIC LEGISLATION AND A DALLAS ORDINANCE AGAINST CAR REPAIR FRAUDS ARE DISCUSSED, AND THE CASE OF FEDERAL COMPLICITY IN THE FAILURE OF THE U.S. NATIONAL BANK ARE REVIEWED. BRIBERY AS A NONDEFENSIBLE CRIME, AND WHITE-COLLAR CRIME AND THE CRIMINAL PROCESS ARE ALSO EXAMINED. NOTES AND REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED AT THE CLOSE OF EACH CHAPTER. NO INDEX IS PROVIDED. SEE ALSO NCJ 47131-47138.