What Myths Are Made Of

“Federal fraud charges unsealed Thursday against former Broadcom Corp. Chief Executive Henry T. Nicholas III for allegedly backdating stock options were overshadowed by a second federal indictment accusing the executive of distributing drugs and slipping them in business associates' drinks.

“The criminal charges are a major blow to Mr. Nicholas, a prominent Southern California technology executive who co-founded Broadcom, a maker of specialized computer chips based in Irvine, Calif…

“Prosecutors allege that the former Broadcom chief engaged in a pattern of drug use and abuse over a nearly seven-year period. The charges against him include conspiracy to distribute Ecstasy, cocaine and methamphetamine.

“Among the more sensational charges is that Mr. Nicholas spiked the drinks of Broadcom customers and others with drugs without their knowledge. Although the indictment doesn't identify any such persons by name, it cites an early 2000 incident in New Orleans at which the Broadcom chief allegedly used Ecstasy, also known as MDMA, to spike the drink of a 'technology executive.'

“Prosecutors also allege that Mr. Nicholas in 2001 directed a Broadcom employee to pay a drug courier between $5,000 and $10,000 in cash in the lobby of Broadcom's headquarters. The same year, they say, marijuana smoke aboard Mr. Nicholas's private plane was so thick during a trip to Las Vegas that the pilot had to put on an oxygen mask.”

(“Drugs Grab Spotlight in Broadcom Case.” Mark Maremont and Justin Scheck. Wall Street Journal: June 6, 2008. pg. B.1)

HIGH-FLYING EXECUTIVES are dangerous -- to their firms, to others, and to themselves.

When we become down-to-earth, we grow grounded in reality, and rooted in integrity.

"He fell in love with an insubstantial hope,
mistaking a mere shadow for a real body…
He gazed at the shape that was no true shape
with eyes that could never have their fill,
and by his own eyes he was undone."
(Ovid)