Athletic Bribery

 

On Tuesday, a story started circulating about Microsoft being investigated for bribery.  According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft stands accused of paying off officials to facilitate software contracts in China, Italy, and Romania.

In reporting this story, the question arises of why the government is aggressively going after Microsoft in this case when a similar case involving Sheldon Addleson, or others suspected of financial or corporate crime, is not being aggressively pursued.  The answer may lie at who is at the center of the bribery case on Microsoft's end.

Darin Ruf, pictured above, is the current Microsoft International Software Business Representative.  According to documents leaked late Monday by Anonmyous, Mr. Ruf is responsible for the bribery allegations Microsoft finds itself in.  Mr. Ruf is also an athlete.  Darin Ruf is a baseball player who spent time in the Phillies organization before accepting his current position with Microsoft. 

It is Darin's background as an athlete that explains why the government is aggressively going after Microsoft in relation to these bribery allegations.  Much like the case of Roger Clemens and Lance Armstrong, the United States Department Of Justice is aggressively going after malfeasance committed by athletes, as opposed to malfeasance committed by corporations and financial organizations.  It just so happens that, in this case, both the corporate world and the athletic world overlap.

When reached for comment, Department Of Justice spokesman Bryan Anthony Sierra refused comment on the particulars of this story.  However, in the past couple of days, a military-style drone aircraft with the Department Of Justice logo on it has been seen hovering over my office.