How To Steal From UCF

Bill Wetherell* used to do the schedule for UCF Regional Campuses. He hated his boss, David Harrison – Vice Provost for Regional Campuses, and attempted to manipulate events so that Harrison would be fired.

Harrison, however, thought Bill was wonderful and one of the best people he had working for him. So, when an anonymous tipster lodged a complaint that Bill illegally subverted the competitive bid process and steered thousands of dollars in UCF money to the Wetherell family sign making company, Harrison initially dismissed it as without merit.

Later, Harrison was given evidence of Bill’s betrayal that was so damning that even the childishly-naïve Harrison concluded that Bill was his enemy. Although the merits of the complaint had not changed, Harrison reversed his earlier position and ordered a formal investigation of the allegation of financial impropriety.

The point of this story: If you are going to steal from UCF, make sure you don’t have or make any enemies. If Jamal Nayfeh, who used his UCF credit card to buy a home theatre system, had been better liked and more politically connected, he may have gotten away with it or only had to slowly pay back the stolen funds à la David Mealor.

Remember, Mealor was reported because he made an enemy of a low-level employee, but he was left unpunished by the more powerful because he was politically connected. At UCF, if everybody loves or fears you, you can take whatever you want.

* Years earlier, Wetherell had been sentenced to several years in Federal Prison for his involvement in political graft.