Published:October 27th, 2009 13:40 EST

Company Paid Dude 470K Before Realizing He Wasn't Working

"A New Jersey company paid a man nearly half a million dollars before realizing he wasn`t working.

Anthony Armatys was hired by telecommunications giant Avaya in 2002 for more than $100,000 a year. He changed his mind and didn`t take the job, but the payroll department apparently never got the memo, according to the Star-Ledger." Read More

Armatys pocketed half a millions dollars before he was caught when he tried to make an early withdrawal from the account.

This story prompted me to consider: What I would have done in a similar situation? I would not have kept the money if it was from a charitable organization or from a company with a reputation for philanthropy. But a telecommunications company? Hell yeah, I would have kept quiet, and cashed the check every two weeks.

There are plenty of bureaucrats in Washington who don`t do anything, and yet they receive a regular healthy paycheck. The onus should be on Avaya for making such a costly mistake, and not on Armatys. He was placed in a position where it was impossible to resist the temptation to cash the checks.

Armatys may spend a couple of years in prison, but he lived like a king for seven years.