Prosecutors in U.S. District Court in Albany charged Timothy M. McGinn and David L. Smith with wire fraud, mail fraud, securities fraud, and falsifying tax forms. The men, both in their 60s, may have benefited at the expense of clients to the tune of $8 million.
The charges will no doubt prompt some, especially former clients, to accuse them of unbridled greed, being unscrupulous liars, and having less honor than fresh cow pies. These descriptors may be the most charitable that will be used. Independent of how their conduct will impact the lives of family members, there are the hundreds of clients who lost the benefits of a life time of work.
Maybe it’s over intellectualizing their alleged wrong doing by trying to figure out why they did it. They liked to live the high life. They liked playing the ponies. Maybe it’s just as simple as saying that they’re very bad men who did very bad things who must be put away for a very long time if convicted.
Yet it's still worth asking what would drive McGinn and Smith to such unprofessional conduct, if true, that would hurt so many people? This is not to suggest that there is something that excuses their conduct. What caused such behavior? Greed? Too simplistic. Hubris? Insecurity?
A connection is missing between behavior and rules, theories, and business mumbo jumbo intended to help people make the right professional decisions. It raises questions whether these men actually knew themselves, were personally grounded, or had a moral compass with a sense of purpose that went beyond making a buck.
Laws, rules, regulations, and especially Codes of Professional Conduct may not have meant much to them. Why? Perhaps it’s because we don’t tailor and personalize, for example, Codes of Conduct, that go from theory to reality.
Ethics and character building can’t be imposed. They need to be nurtured, developed, and cared for even among the most seasoned professionals. There are two things in particular that are often overlooked by the degreed experts in the field of ethics – humility and big picture.
Would McGinn or Smith behave differently if they asked themselves from time to time “what will be written in my obituary?” “What will my son, daughter, niece, or nephew say during my eulogy?” Humility and a sense of the big picture seem to be most needed in the world of ethics today.
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