To the Editor:

David Crawmer’s recent comments about fraud in government got me to thinking about how much better private industry is when it comes to honesty and serving the public good. Of course, as there are so many fine examples of this, I searched the Internet to remind me of some of these worthwhile corporate citizens.

Ah, who can forget Enron and its accounting fraud that resulted in the loss of $78 billion in stock value (never mind the widespread fraud perpetrated on energy consumers). You know, all those employees who lost everything in their retirement savings really should have known better.

And then there is Bernie Madoff. Can you say $65 billion “Ponzi” scheme? As a long-suffering Mets fan, boy, am I ever disappointed about how that has affected the team owners. Never mind my nephew who lost his job when the firm he was working for was wiped out in that fabulous bit of corporate “imaginative bookkeeping.”

What about Cendant Corporation? Its massive tax fraud cost investors only an estimated $19 billion. Or, of course, we have WorldCom and its fraud-related bankruptcy that wiped out almost $104 billion in corporate assets.

Forbes Magazine has six other companies in their “10 Biggest Frauds in Recent U.S. History.” I must admit I was surprised after reading Mr. Crawmer’s letter that his “missing” AMC vehicle was not listed among them. I’m sure this oversight has to do with when that particular fraud took place. It did, however, get me to wondering about how many AMC vehicles you can purchase with $78 billion.

I do not want to imply that the actions that Mr. Crawmer alleges to have taken place shouldn’t be addressed. I simply ask for a little context.

For every bit of “government fraud” that one can site, there are many times that number of private cases of fraud and criminal activity that dwarf in scale the malfeasance of a government employee. Some would say the inability of government to think that big is part of the problem with government. We no longer accept that the government can take us to the moon, build a national highway system, or eradicate polio.

Most individuals in public and private employment, as well as corporations, do the right thing. Some do not. That is why we have a criminal justice system.

Just because Mr. Crawmer can assert a particular case of fraud that took place in the New York State Office of General Services, does not mean that government does not work or that government does not have a critical role in the success of our nation.

Next time your house is burning down, Mr. Crawmer, why don’t you fight it with your privately purchased fire extinguisher? Maybe you can plow the snow from your road? Or perhaps you can make sure that the Enrons, Cendant Corporations, and Bernie Madoffs are not walking off with all of your investments and savings.

It has been proven repeatedly that many corporations, left to their own devices, will willfully defraud and steal from their investors; their employees; the government and, by extension, the taxpayer. Should we not then ban all corporations from existence? Surely, isolated cases of corporate crime can have only one solution?

For some, it seems that accepting the fact that workers may do bad things and that those workers may be public or private workers is too complex an idea to grapple with. I am a strong believer that we must be vigilant when it comes to the role and reach of government in our lives. An informed citizenry is critical to that endeavor.

Unfortunately, spewing venom at “big government” is not the answer. Both government and private industry play a role in a vibrant and successful America. Placing too much stock in one at the expense of the other is neither wise nor instructive.

John McCarthy

Guilderland