I received a phone call from Tom Balko in May of 2009. He had heard of me and my past association with mortgage fraud, and wanted to chit chat. I COMPLETELY understood.
Tom had just plead guilty and was sentenced to 7 years in federal prison for his involvement, as an appraiser, in a mortgage fraud scam. He was to report to the federal prison in Duluth, MN in June to begin his sentence.
We spoke for a while and he gave me the abridged version of his story. I agreed to meet him for coffee the next day, because he had some questions.
At our meeting the next day, Tom gave me the whole story as well as some other things that were on his mind. Specifically, he wanted to know what prison was going to be like. I could have talked to him about this for hours. Based on my experience in prison, there was no short way to answer this question. For now, suffice it to say, I told him that he would be fine.
Ive been doing some speaking engagements with Hank Shea, a former federal prosecutor, a couple times a year. Hank is associated with the The Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions at St. Thomas Law School in Minneapolis. Hank is a great guy and has now devoted his life to this whole ethics and leadership movement that is so important now in Corporate America.
I called Hank after I met with Tom Balko to see if he would want to sit down and talk. You see, Hank works with quite a few white collar criminals. He helps the community by teaming up with ex-felons to tell their story in the hopes of having an impact on the attitudes of business professionals.
Here is a link to an interview Hank did with Tom Balko. It is an edited version. I’ll try to get permission from Hank to get the full version up on Ustream or YouTube. http://ping.fm/ykKMI
I hope you get something out of it. Come back to see more interviews later.
November 13, 2009, 11:53am Comments
