The plot thickens...

So, I work with some very cool employees at Starbucks, and have really connected with a couple of them... three or four people that I absolutely adore, and think are grand. Well, one of them was suppose to work last night, which was my last shift, and about 30 minutes before he was suppose to start, my manager called and said he couldn't work. He refused to give specifics... but was just quiet about it.

Anyways, then I was told by the same manager to read the front headline of the local paper this morning, which I read online. Now, I do not want to slander the individual, so I will not be mentioning names, or the name of the newspaper, although if you really care I am sure it wouldn't be too hard to find out..

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE (name changed):

"The Oak Bay Marine Group's former vice-president of finance has been charged with theft and fraud after more than half a million dollars was diverted from the company's bank accounts.

G-DAWG, 43, of Victoria, has been charged with theft over $5,000 and fraud over $5,000, said Det. Sgt. Don Symes of Oak Bay police.

DAWG, who worked for the Oak Bay Marine Group for eight years but who is no longer with the company, is likely to appear in court in early January.

DAWG is accused of transferring funds from the Oak Bay Marina account to the account of another company in the Bahamas owned by the Oak Bay Marine Group and then transferring the money into his personal account, Symes said. The transfers happened between 2005 and March 2007, police allege.

The financial discrepancies, which totalled $511,750, were discovered by chance by another employee, Symes said.

The investigation, which started in October, was handed to the Oak Bay Police Department by the RCMP commercial crime section, Symes said.

Bob Wright, Oak Bay Marine Group founder and CEO, is travelling in a boat off the coast of Africa and could not be contacted for comment yesterday."

The interesting story that isn't told in the papers, and was explained to me by my manager, is that the CEO of the Oak Bay Marine group is a rather vindictive man. My manager's partner is a bookeeper, and used to work for the Oak Bay Marine Group... and so he has some negative stories about this individual that runs the company. Anyways, the story is that my coworker had actually sold his house and already paid the funds back 5 months ago... but that charges are just now being levied against him, and he was under the impression that it was taken care of internally already when he was caught. Now, I do not dispute that he did a bad thing, and neither does he, but when faced with it, he sold his house, gave the money back, and moved on... it seems odd to not tell him at that time that you are going to press charges, and instead wait until 5 months later.

Anyways, I am not involved, and I do not know all that much besides what these individuals have told me. But I do know this, my coworker now works for an Indian Reserve Office during the day, and works two nights a week at Starbucks for extra money. He isn't rediculously loaded obviously, and he is a really nice guy, genuinely a hard worker from my experience, and a nice guy. Thats all I know, and it seems rather mean to go after him now... also interesting that this CEO happened to be 'away' on a sailing trip at this crutial time.

Suffice to say, there is more than meets the eye, I am sure... and more I suspect, than most people know... including myself.

Happy Holidays !