ABQ Journal editor loses his job after shoplifting

[playthrough]

Guy's got a six-figure job leading a newspaper yet can't resist self-scanner shenanigans at Wal-Mart.

https://searchlightnm.org/inside-th...-albuquerque-journal-editor-patrick-ethridge/

 

[Slacker]

Golly, what bad luck – ain't it, though?
But good reporting and a damning photo.

"So the survey SAYS ... "

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Seems very Albuquerque that the editor of the paper, making $120k+, is covered in prison-quality tats.

 

[playthrough]

Seems very Albuquerque that the editor of the paper, making $120k+, is covered in prison-quality tats.

I didn't want to judge a guy based on appearance but yeah, maybe the most un-editor-like person I've ever seen. Or I've just been out of newsrooms too long.

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

What an idiot. Feels like with the self-scanning these days, some people take the mindset that if you're going to make me do a job here, then it's OK to take a little off the top. Or a lot off the top.

In any case, throwing away a high-level and decent-paying job over some Wal-Mart level steak and processed pulled pork should mean he's too forking stupid to be in that position to begin with. And what's with allowing your kids to behave like that anywhere in public? This isn't even a "back in my day!" take, but if my kids ever did ship like that in a store, whether I was with them or not, things would get ugly for them.

 

[SixToe]

What a weird background: jobs in 5-6 states at small newspapers, then to ABQ, and the report digging into things like seat belt citations and how much ship he has at his home driveway. And then it's all gone, like Keyser Soze, poof, and a lockbox on the door.

Something weird about that whole deal.

 

[sgreenwell]

What a weird background: jobs in 5-6 states at small newspapers, then to ABQ, and the report digging into things like seat belt citations and how much ship he has at his home driveway. And then it's all gone, like Keyser Soze, poof, and a lockbox on the door.

Something weird about that whole deal.

It really reeks of a "I know this guy" sort of hiring, because the credentials seemingly don't match the job title. But also, man, how big is the Journal? A newspaper chain since has a vice-whatever that was also in the process of hiring more layers of management? At least according to Wikipedia, it's still a family-owned newspaper.

 

[SixToe]

Even if it's a buddy hire, which sounds plausible, it's strange to me a guy moves completely after getting popped for a stupid offense. Sure, you don't want to hear the ship about "that newspaper VP getting arrested" but to up and leave?

Maybe he moved across town. Or out to the country to raise cactus. Dunno. But with his bouncing work history, appearances (yes, I know we shouldn't be judging based on tats, boats and t-shirts) and how deep the Spotlight dug into him, it still raises a red flag or two.

 

[sgreenwell]

Even if it's a buddy hire, which sounds plausible, it's strange to me a guy moves completely after getting popped for a stupid offense. Sure, you don't want to hear the ship about "that newspaper VP getting arrested" but to up and leave?

Maybe he moved across town. Or out to the country to raise cactus. Dunno. But with his bouncing work history, appearances (yes, I know we shouldn't be judging based on tats, boats and t-shirts) and how deep the Spotlight dug into him, it still raises a red flag or two.

I mean, I would suspect that something shady is going on, yes. The story screams over-leveraged or living beyond his means, but I imagine it is a matter of how hard they want to dig. The Spotlight got a decent amount on him, but it's honestly not that much beyond what you'd get from a police report and doing a deep dive on Google. (i.e. It's not like they did a bunch of interviewing here.)

 

[wicked]

What a weird background: jobs in 5-6 states at small newspapers, then to ABQ, and the report digging into things like seat belt citations and how much ship he has at his home driveway. And then it's all gone, like Keyser Soze, poof, and a lockbox on the door.

Something weird about that whole deal.

It sounds like they had other stuff that they weren't able to totally nail down. Maybe they figure this story will shake stuff/other sources loose.

Also I'm surprised someone there would be making as much as $150k? Seems like a lot for the market.

 

[jr/shotglass]

That was actually a pretty comprehensive account of everything that went down.

If nothing else, this should be a cautionary tale to the next smart guy who thinks nobody is going to see them do it. They've got eyes on you, buddy.

 

[FileNotFound]

It sounds like they had other stuff that they weren't available to totally nail down. Maybe they figure this story will shake stuff/other sources loose.

Also I'm surprised someone there would be making as much as $150k? Seems like a lot for the market.

$150 is not out of the question for that job, but it would be at the high end of the range.