Chapter 24
Franklin County Contractors
A Case of Concealed Liabilities
Richard L. Franklin, III, was the owner of Franklin County Contractors (FCC). He was a good-looking man — one of those men who looked as though he spent a lot of time on a yacht with his year-round tan and expensive yet casual clothes. But then, Richard did spend a lot of time on his yacht. Richard was born into a very wealthy family with extensive real estate holdings. His family was one of the wealthiest in the state. Richard had looks and brains, and he graduated with good grades with a degree in engineering from an Ivy League university.
After Richard's father died, Richard's mother gave each of the Franklin children several large tracts of real estate. Richard's tracts included several stone quarries and asphalt plants, as well as significant commercial and residential real estate holdings. Altogether Richard owned and operated about eight companies to manage his real estate holdings and business enterprises, and he even owned a company to manage the private plane he flew to his vacation homes. Richard had several accountants and each of them oversaw the books for one or more of his companies. FCC was one such company, which Richard had formed to complete state highway construction contracts.
Alan Baker had been the controller of FCC for more than ten years. He had a bachelor's degree in accounting but was not a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and therefore was not bound to uphold ...
