As I get older, more cynical and less fearful of this Game we call Life, stories like this have a strange appeal — and not necessarily from good intentions, as you will see. Here’s the executive summary:
Guy gets hired by a company, and over a period of nine years swindles enough money to fund a “fantasy lifestyle of Las Vegas and New York trips, stays in The Ritz and Savoy and Harrods shopping sprees”.
Thinking about it in the Murkin idiom, that would mean trips to London and Monaco, staying at the Ritz and Fairmont, and of course Harrods shopping sprees. (The story also mentions that the man paid for house improvements, but never mind that nonsense.)
Which brings me to the point. Eventually, the gravy train came to an end when Freddie The Fraudster was caught (ironically, through invoices for his house improvements), and he’s just been sentenced to five years in jail.
So let’s see. If I somehow stumbled onto a scheme like this, I’d live the life of Reilly for nine years (taking me to age 77), and then get to spend my dotage (assuming I even got that far) in government-subsidized accommodation with free food and healthcare until I snuffed it.
Five years of boarding school in return for nine years of utter hedonism?
Granted, there are parts of this story that are truly reprehensible — such as the fact that this mope was hired by a good man who wanted to give him a second chance at life, and he repaid the kindness by stealing the company blind for nearly a decade. That’s about as bad as it gets, and under those circumstances I would never countenance doing the same as the prisoner in the dock.
But if I could do the same while being employed by a wealthy stranger (or even better, Global MegaCorp Inc.)…
Not to mention:
Don’t even talk about it.
Unfortunately, I have a conscience, and her name is New Wife. So none of that’s gonna happen.