I am not an activist by nature, but...

When an individual has been trampled, solely because another has taken morally unacceptable actions, sometimes activism is called for.

USA Today, July 10, 2008

Feds knock; a business is lost

In a nutshell - a secretary working for a government contractor forged checks to herself. To protect herself against prosecution, she provided false allegations against her employer. The government prosecuted and lost its case. The business is unlikely to receive future government work. Dozens are now unemployed and the government lost a contractor that actually worked to improve efficiency and reduce costs. The company's future is uncertain at best.

Because one person forged less than $13,000 worth of checks to herself, and then likely falsified company documents in order to protect herself, an immigrant who became a naturalized citizen and founded a successful business, had a good reputation - now sullied. The business is ruined, or nearly so, and dozens of families that relied on the income of employees that are no longer working are suffering.

It's not quite that simple, of course. One must keep in mind the civil servant that was so focused on his own situation that he totally ignored the basic procedures of any investigation: uncover all of the facts, and verify those facts. Oh, and perhaps question the reliability of your source.

And what about the U. S. Attorney, Alice Martin, who pursued this investigation, and filed charges based on a known forger's testimony? The possibility exists, based on U.S. District Judge Inge Johnson's observation, that Martin knew that evidence existed showing the innocence of the accused.

I don't consider myself to be an activist but when blatant greed, and the behavior of self-serving civil servants, harms this many people how can a certain amount of outrage not be felt?

After reading the article, I went online to find the company website to contact Alex Latifi, the company founder and CEO to offer any assistance that I might. I found none, but I was able to find the company's address. So I sat down and wrote an old-fashioned letter and dropped it in the mail.

Don't get me wrong. I have no belief that I can help this man right the wrongs that have been perpetuated against him. I'm just a guy that trains car salespeople. But, as I told him in my correspondence, I felt compelled to at least offer any assistance that I might. In all likelihood, nothing will come of my offer. I just felt that he should know that I was available to help him, in any way that I might.

I'm not an activist by nature, but...