Chapter 3
Critical Thinking Q&A
The Killer Apartment
Colin McFee had a Manhattan apartment to die for, an enormously spacious duplex that
looked down on Park Avenue from the 18th and 19th floors. He also had a fortune worth
killing for. So it wasn’t too surprising when the old man was found to be a victim of foul
play. The day of the murder began innocently enough. McFee’s two nephews and his
niece were all visiting him from Duluth and the old millionaire had been so captivated by
the charming trio that he impulsively decided to change his will.
The generous millionaire spent the morning signing the new document which left his
entire estate divided equally among the three vacationing relatives. McFee’s faithful
maid witnessed the document, ushered the lawyer out and, with an uneasy glance at the
shiny-eyed heirs, retreated to her room.
Nothing happened until shortly after noon. The maid was in her upper floor bedroom,
watching TV, when she heard McFee’s unmistakable voice screaming out in pain. For a
few seconds, she was in shock, wondering what her employer’s voice was doing on an old
Columbo episode. And then she realized it wasn’t the TV.
The maid went out into the hall and found Nick, the older nephew, standing at the top of a
rarely used back staircase. fiIt came from downstairs,” Nick stammered.
Pushing past Nick, the maid led the way down the narrow stairs. fiMr. McFee!” she
shouted and a moment later caught a spider web across the face. The back staircase
went directly down to the east library. The dim, wood paneled room was empty except
for the corpse on the floor by the bookshelves. Colin McFee, it seemed, had been hacked
to death, although there was no knife in sight.
The three McFee heirs sat with the maid in the center of the lower level, by the main
staircase, awaiting the police and rehearsing their stories. fiI was in my second floor
bedroom,” Nick said, fiwatching an old murder mystery show. When Uncle Colin
screamed, I didn’t do anything for a minute. Then I went out into the hall. That’s where
I met up with you.” Nick smiled at the maid, his alibi.
fiI was upstairs in the west dining room,” Nora volunteered, fiexamining the old
dumbwaiter. Even though the scream came from downstairs and on the far side of the
apartment, I still heard it. I thought it must be robbers.
So, I barricaded the dining room door and didn’t come out until I heard you all calling
my name.”
Astor McFee, the younger nephew, claimed to have been asleep. fiI was reading a
magazine, right here in this chair and I nodded off. The scream woke me. It took a few
seconds to realize that something was wrong. When I heard people talking in the library,
I went off in that direction. That’s when I ran into you,” he said, nodding toward Nick
and the maid.
When the police arrived, they took everyone’s statement, and then went to the main floor
kitchen, in search of the murder weapon. They found it in a utensil drawer, a huge
butcher knife that had been wiped clean of blood, the same blood type as the victim’s.
This tells us everything we need to know, the homicide chief said with a grin. Who killed
Colin McFee?
Answer: The best way to solve this exercise is to draw a picture. When a picture is drawn, the
Review Questions & Answers
3-1 Describe occupational fraud and abuse.
Answer: Occupational fraud and abuse is perpetrated by an employee who uses his or her
employment for personal enrichment through the deliberate misuse or misapplication of
3-2 Compare and contrast Cressey and Albrecht’s theories of crime causation.
Answer: Albrecht’s conclusions are similar to Cressey’s in that they both agreed that
financial pressure and perceived opportunity are essential for the occurrence of fraud.
3-3 Identify the six situational categories that cause non-shareable problems from Cressey’s
research.
Answer:
1. violation of ascribed obligations
2. problems resulting from personal failure
3-4 Discuss the essence of organizational crime.
Answer: Organizational crimes occur when entities, companies, corporations, non-for-
profits, non-profits and government bodies, otherwise legitimate and law-abiding
3-5 Give examples of behavioral indications of fraud.
Answer: According to Albrecht, the ten most highly-ranked factors of personal
indications of fraud are:
1. Living beyond ones means
2. An overwhelming desire for personal gain
3-6 Explain the relationship between an employee’s position and the level of theft (according
to Hollinger and Clark’s research).
3-7 Analyze the role of corporate governance mechanisms in fraud prevention.
Answer: The Board of Directors, Audit Committee and corporate officers set the ethical
fitone” of the organization and communicate its values to others both inside and outside
3-8 Describe corporate governance breakdowns in the facilitation of Enron’s fraudulent acts.
Answer: Enron had weak board oversight, inappropriate executive compensation
issues.
3-9 Identify ethical issues, conflicts of interest, and non-compliance with corporate policies
and procedures in the Enron case.
Answer:
Ethical issues – While the employees and shareholders at Enron were reassured by the
company’s executives that their investments in Enron were safe, the executives
3-10 Discuss alternative courses of action in the Enron case within the framework of
appropriate ethical conduct.
Answer: Enron’s board members should not have accepted gifts that might compromise