Going to Prison Does Not Qualify You to Give Advice

A journalist writing about white collar crime sent me about 50 questions before our call. We cut it to 25, and I answered the first three here. Who I am and why anyone should listen to me: going to prison does not qualify you to give advice, and neither does failing. What matters is what you did with the experience and whether you built a record someone can look at. How I went from USC and Bear Stearns to federal prison: not one decision, but pressure, opportunity, and rationalization, convincing myself I was the good guy while I took commissions I was not entitled to. And whether I deserved prison: I know I deserved consequences. I broke the law, I hurt people, and even though the victims got their money back, it did not replace the shame and pain they went through.