Case Study $1$

In $2002,$ Bill Eaves worked in the purchasing department of Mavis County. In $2006,$ Eaves was promoted to assistant county administrative officer for personnel. Five years later, Eaves was promoted to county administrative officer$$the county$$s top executive. At the time of this promotion, he hired James Hart from Billings County to replace him as the county$$s human resource administrator. In $2016,$ Eaves retired as county administrative officer. But he continued to manage the county as a contract employee while the county searched for a successor. At that time, Hart was selected to replace Eaves as county administrative officer.

Following his retirement, Eaves asked Bell Waste Systems Company $($Bell$)$ if he could buy the firm out of its contract to operate some of the county$$s landfills because he believed the landfills could turn a profit if operated privately. Bell turned down Eaves$$s offer, but hired him as a consultant to help it develop and pitch a proposal to take over the operation of all the county$$s landfills. Eaves asked Hart for help. Hart promised to help Bell win county business in exchange for thousands of dollars in cash or in$-$kind payments from Eaves. Eaves accepted this exchange.

Eaves signed a consulting agreement with Bell, which ultimately paid him $$4\mathrm{.}6$ million. Under the agreement, Bell promised to pay Eaves $$1$ million if the county allows Bell to operate the county landfill system and $$50,000$ per month if the amount of garbage dumped at county landfills exceeds $850,000$ tons a year, and the county issued municipal bonds to finance landfill closure and postclosure of maintenance.

Hart headed the county board of supervisors and approved a $$20$ million a year contract with Bell to operate all the county$$s landfills. Bell started work on the contract. Hart, his friends, and other county officials were given free lodging, meals, fishing, and golf in Cabo San Lucas, the costs of which were covered by Eaves. In addition, Hart signed a promissory note for $$90,000,$ which he received from Eaves.

Hernandez Trucking started paying kickbacks to Robert Max, vice president of Bell, equaling about $$2$ per truckload of dirt delivered to county landfills to cover garbage. Max received approximately $$256,000,$ which he shared with Eaves and Hart.

In January $2011,$ Eaves, Hart, and Max were under investigation by the FBI because of a tip from one county official. They were among numerous people to testify in front of a special grand jury convened to investigate a failed trash project and political corruption in the county.