American Greed- Carlos Perez-Olivo – Master of Deadly Deceit

American Greed- Carlos Perez-Olivo – Master of Deadly Deceit

Carlos Perez-Olivo had a fairy tale kind of marriage that had lasted for more than thirty years. The former attorney spoke fondly of his relationship with his wife in just under a year from the time they met. The two had three children together. Peggy, Carlos’ wife, worked as a teaching assistant at the elementary where her youngest son attended. She would earn an annual salary of less than $25,000, but she worked for the inner satisfaction the job gave her and for the love of the job. Carlos himself was an admirable attorney who was vocal sharp, and successful in his legal practice (CNBC, 2021).

For more than a decade, Carlos had engaged in illegal activities from a run-down building in the Bronx. His unlawful but lucrative but illegal defence practice accorded him and his wife a luxurious lifestyle. The couple attended fancy dinners, frequently travelled to Puerto Rico, and eventually moved to an exclusive neighbourhood in Westchester County.

Carlos, however, had a run-in with many clients who claimed he was a crook. Omar’s family is an example of people that Carlos Perez-Olivo fleeced. They had sold their home in the Dominican Republic to hire the legal services of Carlos to represent Omar in court, who was eventually sentenced to serve a maximum of six years in prison. Carlos had promised to ‘invest’ the bail money and make quick returns for the Omar family, only to disappear with the $15,000.

According to a retired deputy chief counsel of the New York City Supreme Court disciplinary committee, dozens of complaints had been filed against Perez-Olivo by his clients. Andrew Granton began gathering complaints against Carlos in the early 2000s. Carlos had become arrogant and careless in his legal practice because of his wide clientele. He ended up more concerned about the money he fleeced his clients than the image of is legal practice and could walk over everybody, disappearing with the money he had been paid for services he did not deliver.

The Puerto Rico federal court stepped in and decided to disbar Carlos after numerous cases were filed against him. Carlos did not respond to the court but instead moved his practice to New York. He kept on with his tricks, and complaints against him kept piling up. After a case of conflict of interest and gathering enough evidence against Carlos, the deputy chief counsel of the NYC Supreme Court began the disbarment process against Carlos. With the loss of his legal practice license, Carlos got more aggressive in his criminal activities to cater to his expenses.

On November 18, 2006, the former attorney Carlos Perez-Olivo and his wife Peggy were on their way to their Westchester County home from a fancy dinner in Manhattan. As Carlos Perez-Olivo narrated, just twelve miles at 11 am from home on the lonely highway; the two were run off the road by an unknown vehicle. Carlos tried to avoid it, only for a man with a gun to approach the unidentified vehicle and get into the car’s back seat. Carlos tries to disarm the attacker, only for three shots to go off during the ensuing struggle. One of the shots strikes Carlos in the abdomen, and the attacker flees the scene. A stray bullet had hit Peggy in the back of the head. Carlos decides to rush to the hospital, and on his way there, he calls 911. However, the police raised questions on the authenticity of what he purported happened on that fateful night. The investigative agents cannot tell whether the act was a random act of violence or a planned execution. Months later, the prosecution would find out that Peggy had nearly $900,000 of life insurance at the time of Peggy’s death, with Perez-Olivo as the primary beneficiary. Carlos was, at the time, broke and had a mistress. On December 20, 2007, Carlos was indicted for the murder of his wife and was later sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Reaction

The documentary clearly demonstrates how human greed, lack of financial integrity, and work ethics could lead to extreme consequences such as death, lengthy jail terms, and reputation ruin. Carlos put his legal practice at risk by fleecing his clients’ money and did not deliver the services he was paid for. The breach of contract is a serious work ethics issue that attracts a negative professional image and legal action from the victims of such violations.

The documentary also demonstrates the importance of clearly signed contracts whenever getting into a professional partnership with an enterprise or individual. Such clearly stated contracts are crucial in taking legal action against the party that breaks it. For example, some of the clients fleeced by Carlos would refer to their agreements when filing complaints with the police department and the courts. Contracts would also make a strong document to claim compensation in the case of illegal termination or inconveniences caused by a violation of the agreement.

Financial integrity would make one develop and improve individual habits of spending and earning. Financial success would be determined by one’s habits with money and not how much financial resources he already commands. Carlos put on a show by living in a high-end residential area, holidaying, and purchasing expensive cars, even though he did not invest his money in ways that would sustain his lifestyle without getting involved in unlawful activities.  This resulted in him only thinking about the money and not the ethical process of earning it. A formerly admired attorney eventually fell into a broke con without his legal practice.

Transparency is a value that comes out strongly in the documentary. At the time of Peggy’s murder, the formerly rich lower had less than $200 in his bank accounts, but the wife had $ 900,000 life insurance. Given the $25,000 annual salary she earned, Peggy and Carlos seemed not to have their financial situation consolidated as a family. Lack of transparency would breed conflict of interest and resentment. Carlos is also shady about his source of money as he mentions clients in South America and the unlawful activities in which they are involved.

The importance of strong and functional institutions has been brought out comprehensively in the documentary. Puerto Rico’s supreme court disbarred Carlos, but he still went and practised in New York City, where he was disbarred and the disbarment enforced strictly.  The police department and the Supreme Court of New York City worked together to investigate and charge Carlos. The court exercised its duty to deliver justice to the victims. The police department worked hard to investigate the complaints brought forward against Carlos.

Human values play a vital role in the long term. Carlos’s illegal dealings hurt many people, broke his family, and landed him in jail. The human values of honesty, integrity, transparency, patience and delayed gratification accord us great satisfaction in life (Reis et al., 2018)

References

CNBC. (2021). American Greed – Carlos Perez-Olivo: Master of Deadly Deceit [Video]. Retrieved 2 June 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MubmCTbyoZw.

Reis, H., Collins, A., & Berscheid, E. (2018). The relationship context of human behaviour and development (1st ed.). Routledge.

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American Greed runs almost every night on CNBC on cable TV. It runs at many different times a day. You can view a new show this season or an old show from previous seasons. Keep in mind that these shows typically run one hour long, so plan accordingly.

American Greed- Carlos Perez-Olivo – Master of Deadly Deceit

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