Little by little, the downfall of many, go for the money, get only a penny

Earlier this week, I sent the story of Santa Ana councilman Carlos Bustamante to a mutual acquaintance with the pithy question, "WTF?!"

A former executive with the county government and current Santa Ana councilman lured female employees who reported to him into his office, where he groped them and exposed himself, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said at a news conference Tuesday.

The women feared Carlos Bustamante, 47, thinking if they reported the sexual assaults, their careers with the county would end, the county's top prosecutor said while revealing in some detail how, when and where the alleged incidents occurred.

Bustamante, a married father and one-time rising county Republican star, was put on paid administrative leave Sept. 12 after the county received an anonymous letter detailing allegations of a sexual nature against him.

Bustamante, doing the perp walk
Photo from the Orange County Register

Idiot.  All for what, a piece of ass?  And one where you plan to take it by force, if necessary?  Strange morality - say what you will about Los Angeles mayor, Anthony Villaraigosa, cheating on his wife, at least it was with a consenting mistress.

Anytime I see one of these stories, I always think how it starts out small.  One little indiscretion, the next little lie . . . and unless someone calls people like this on their shit early on, they just get bolder and bolder, thinking themselves to be above the common fray.

I bet Carlos started with an indiscreet comment.  And after getting away with it, he decided to push the envelope further, experiencing a bigger rush at how no one stopped him with each push.  Somewhere the moral compass lost its magnetism.

I recently discussed a matter with my Father Confessor, where I was astounded about recently discovered allegations concerning a person he and I both know.  He pointed out, that once a person indulges in one abhorrent sin, it becomes easier to indulge in the next.  And so the lies grow and the sin spreads until the scandal occurs.  Two years ago, maybe less, this person was someone else completely - without guile and happy - but the magnetism on their compass point has also dulled.  That is so sad.

Frank Mickadeit, a columnist for the Orange County Register, talks about the "wide debris field" that Bustamante's scandal leaves.  That holds for anyone.  

You think it's only your downfall?  Imagine some of the people who trusted you, who admired you - would you feel comfortable "explaining things" to them?