8
Found Guilty
C. Arnholt Smith.
I doubt the name means anything to you. At least not to most of you. But stay with me. This is a story about integrity. It was one of my most challenging experiences.
Smith was known by his friends as Arnie. I wasn't really in the “friends” category, even though I worked with him over a fairly long period. I called him Arnie as if he were a friend—and he didn't seem to mind.
He quit high school when he was fifteen and went to work in a grocery store. His financial success grew in monumental, unbelievable leaps. When the story I'm about to tell you takes place, he had the majority stock in the United States National Bank— the largest in California. He owned the San Diego Padres, and a dozen or so other major businesses.
He was an inspiration, the single most important leader in the community. The San Diego Union-Tribune named him “Mr. San Diego of the Century.” Among a number of other involvements, he was Chairman of the Republican Party and one of its largest contributors.
Come with me back in time to experience this story.
Smith is a strikingly handsome man. He is often seen riding around town in a tan Cadillac convertible. And he wears a tan suit to match, the very same color. No one can remember him ever wearing anything but the tan suit.
I had a fellow tell me once, who knows Arnie quite well, that he orders a dozen of these suits at a time, all tailor-made. And he has a suntan to match. I have known him for years and the tan is always there. ...
