Stolen Without A Gun: Confessions from inside history's biggest accounting fraud - the collapse of MCI Worldcom
Walter Pavlo, Jr. was a young MBA rising quickly through the finance ranks at the nation’s second largest telecom company. With a beautiful wife, two kids and a promising career, he epitomized the American dream. Pavlo’s life took a dark turn when he became a willing participant in the company’s efforts to hide from investors and potential acquirers a mountain of bad debt run up by mobsters and other unsavory customers. Encouraged by higher-ups, Pavlo became accomplished at accounting...
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Walter Pavlo, Jr. was a young MBA rising quickly through the finance ranks at the nation’s second largest telecom company. With a beautiful wife, two kids and a promising career, he epitomized the American dream. Pavlo’s life took a dark turn when he became a willing participant in the company’s efforts to hide from investors and potential acquirers a mountain of bad debt run up by mobsters and other unsavory customers. Encouraged by higher-ups, Pavlo became accomplished at accounting gimmickry. Then the jaded young executive consorted with a colorful scam artist and others to use some of the same ploys he’d devised for his employer to enrich himself at its expense. A ruse born of disillusionment and greed turned into a nightmare for Pavlo after he was caught and forced to choose--rat on his buddies or spend decades rotting in prison. His crimes ultimately cost Pavlo his freedom, family, reputation and self-respect. Only later did he recognize that his original sins were part and parcel of the corruption that led to an historic collapse for his company, his industry and of public confidence in corporate America. With humor and raw honesty, Pavlo and award-winning Forbes senior editor Neil Weinberg use this compelling personal story to portray in intimate detail the pressures millions of white-collar workers face every day.
About the Authors xiiiAcknowledgments xvForeword xixPreface xxiAuthor's Note xxvDiesel Therapy 31Big Time 39Reach Out and Touch Yourself 47Biting Heads Off Chickens 53Hedge Hopping 59Making the Numbers 67Target Man 73Change of Command 81Young Turks 87Solutions Provider 101Putting the Cat on the Roof 111Don't Worry Baby 123Hog Sty Bay 131This Could Be Ugly 143A Good Back Waxing 151Dead On Arrival 161Scamming the Scammers 167The Mac Daddy Card 181It's All A Lie 193Everyone's Nasdaqable 203Die Like An Aviator! 213The Bert and Bernie Show 221Tidying Things Up 229Bring a Bazooka 237The End of the World 251People Like Me 259Epilogue 265Where Are TheyNow? 267Endnotes 269Select Bibliography 285
