In November 2001, both the world's largest newspapers and electronic media were filled with stories about the collapse of Enron Corporation and speculation about likely criminal charges for some of its officers. That crime was committed there was little doubt, and, largely because of it, some 20,000 Enron employees eventually lost entirely or saw a severe reduction in their retirement financial accounts. Criminal proceedings against and negotiated guilty pleas by some of Enron's former top managers began soon afterward. Andrew Fastow, the Enron chief financial officer who contrived many of the deals that enabled his employer to hide from investors and shareholders the enormity of its debt, was one of the first. On January 12, 2005, he pleaded guilty to federal charges and later was sentenced to ten years imprisonment. Like him, Kenneth Lay, Jeffrey Skilling, and other high-ranking officers were indicted and faced trial on criminal charges. Criminal proceedings will continue for years. Enron was not the only major corporation caught out for crimes on a massive scale; its crimes were duplicated by predatory and criminal behavior by management of WorldCom, HealthSouth, Tyco, Xerox, Adelphia, and others.

For those inclined to look for it, evidence of pervasive and wide-spread white-collar crime has rarely been more plentiful. Even the casual consumer of the mass media almost daily encounters reports of outrageously harmful or destructive crime committed by privileged citizens and large corporations.