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December 21, 2005
Bribes R Us, Jewelry Division
"Her failing grade on the licensing test everyone must pass to teach in Massachusetts was a big problem for the aspiring Haverhill teacher. But Department of Education clerk Terrance Yancey Jr. was allegedly ready with a solution." Hmm, a helpful state bureaucrat, what are the odds?
"Yancey, a clerk in the DOE's licensure department, was arrested after an undercover investigation by state police from Attorney General Thomas Reilly's office. Yancey, 36, is accused of taking bribes between $1,500 and $1,700 to provide fraudulent licenses to three other would-be teachers. He was captured after a brief foot chase near his house, authorities said."
I can handle corrupt politicians, pundits and even state bureaucrats. But the story below, my friend, is the last straw.
"The secretive world of diamond dealing has been rocked by a bribery and corruption scandal that has shattered the authority of the Gemological Institute of America, the body responsible for grading and valuing the world’s most precious gemstones," according to the London Times (and any number of other places).
"The GIA, which values almost all diamonds on the market from the giant Hope Diamond to the quarter carats in a pair of earrings, was accused in a lawsuit of issuing false valuation reports for two stones bought for $15 million (£8.5 million) by a member of the Saudi royal family and an associate. After an investigation, the GIA found that at least two clients were paying bribes to four GIA staff members to issue false valuation reports on stones worth millions of dollars."
Good thing I chose pearls. The ad claims a diamond is forever, but a diamond valuation? Better not to ask.
Posted by Deborah Branscum at December 21, 2005 09:45 PM
Comments
Diamonds, teachers, whatever -- the only thing I wanted to know after starting this blog entry is what lousy journalist and editor were responsible for that horrible lead sentence? Jeez, my high school newspaper editor wouldn't have let that one get by.
Posted by: Joseph Holmes at December 22, 2005 01:41 AM