Concrete Robin Hood

The overcast, chilly October day was met with yellow caution tape and police officers as Steve approached the large stone-grey building on the city’s east side business district. Steve quickly showed his badge as he made his way through the chaos to the head towards the mailroom to work. The yellow tape had become somewhat the new normal as a few of the new management team had been under investigation for embezzlement.

Steve has worked in the mailroom for over forty years, and this was not the first time he has seen crazy actions taking place. You see a lot of crazy things working over forty years in a mailroom for a large corporation. Bribery, infidelity, and overall drama. It is a difficult task not being sucked into the tornado that comes with the change in seasons in this industry.

Steve was a quiet man. He did not have many friends at the workplace, even though he had been there for so many years. He stayed to himself and did his work as the mail sorter in the mailroom.

The new management team was young and sharp. In their fancy black suits that looked a size too small and their fancy degrees, they were on the mission of turning a bigger profit for the shareholders and nothing was going to stop them. The people who had worked for the company for decades were nothing but roadblock for these guys and their dollar sign struck eyes.

“I didn’t tell you that you could take a break.” Steve remembered one of them snapping at him as he was sitting in the breakroom at lunch. The executive was clearly mocking him and laughing as he and another suit that had arrived from a foreign country that day walked by.

“That guy is going to pay.” Steve thought to himself as he sat alone.

It was about two months later when what seemed like an entire army of police arrived and started searching through everyone’s areas. The entire building was sent home for two days as all the files were searched and computers were taken.

The newspaper showed a picture of the executive that had harassed Steve. There was also picture of a colorful puppet next to him and the caption read “Corporate greed and the puppets that follow. Another executive trying to cheat the people.”

Steve smiled as he read the article. “When are these guys going to realize that we are all human?” he asked himself.

As he sat there reading the newspaper, a police officer approached him.

“Sir, can you please come down to the station? We have a few questions for you.” The deputy asked Steve.

“Yes sir, I will come down after my shift ends.” Steve replied.

The deputy at the station placed Steve in a quiet cinderblock room with a metal table and two chairs. He asked Steve to take a seat.

“It is our understanding that you work in the mailroom. Is that correct?” The officer asked.

“Yes sir, I have been there for many years. What is this about?” Steve asked.

“It appears that there are a few executives at your building who like to take money from the company. But it appears as though someone has been helping them. We are trying to find out who.” The officer replied.

“How would a mailroom clerk be able to help a big shot executive?” Steve answered.

“We think that you might have access to some of the confidential information that moves through that room.” The officer replied. “There are certain financial records that move through the mailroom that would give a person certain access to different accounts.”

“I sort the mail and send it to the different offices. I do not have access to any of these records you are speaking of.” Steve answered.

The back and forth between them went on for a few more hours before the deputy decided to let Steve go.

The police never could find who in the mailroom could have helped the executive. He did end up going to prison for embezzlement.

Steve went back to his mailroom job and the next round of executives came on board. They treated him the same as the last round and so he began his methodical plan of elimination once more.

One of the executives from a few years back was quite lazy, and had entrusted Steve’s boss to input certain reports onto the company financial data base when the letters would come in. He thought it would save time. This financial data base held the account numbers for specific departments.

All the check stubs also came through the mailroom. And this executive happened to have his bank records sent to the office because he traveled so much.

It did not take long for Steve to pair the two together and have portions of the company money dumped into one of the executives accounts every week. It added up quite nicely in a short period of time. And it allowed Steve to feel like Robin Hood, as we figured out how to work through each of the crooked executives.

No one ever suspected old Steve from the mailroom.