Bribery and Corruption Casebook: The View from Under the Table

CHAPTER 34

Friends and Lovers in High Places

RICK HOYE

Cindy Pomeroy was like many executives at small, government-funded organizations whose missions were to provide public assistance to those in need. She applied for and obligated the group’s finances. She reported to a board of directors made up mostly of local government officials. She was directly accountable to a state agency charged with disbursing federal funds. However, unlike her contemporaries in this small, midwestern state, Cindy managed to provide herself with a financial compensation package, albeit illegal, that exceeded the combined salaries of the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and the state treasurer.

Pomeroy grew up in a town of 350 people, most of whom worked in jobs associated with the endless surrounding fields of corn and soybeans. Some families did better than others financially, but no one in town was considered rich. She dropped out of high school at the age of 15 to get married but later received her GED certificate. Like many young people of her generation, she had dreams that could never be satisfied in a small town. She moved to the state capital to find the opportunities that might lead to personal and financial success.

Over the years she married and divorced three times, had two children and used her management and social skills to achieve a comfortable and rewarding lifestyle. She started working for a group that helped the unemployed get practical training and productive employment. ...