Weasel of the Week: Scott Bennett

This is actually for the week ending yesterday, but I couldn't pass this up nonetheless.

Scott Bennett was afraid of losing his job for taking time off, presumably on an unpaid leave without official authorization. Must've used up all of his allotted vacation time for the year, I have to guess. Fearing for job security, though, doesn't give Bennett the right to pretend that his mother passed away in order to go on bereavement leave. But, that's exactly the scam he ran, and nearly got away with it.

I first read of this in Sunday's New York Daily News, and while I found this deserving to be filed in Chuck Shepherd's syndicated News of the Weird column, as I read further, I felt more disgusted with this idiot's tactics. He's not deserving of a Dunce Cap, mind you, just a set of weasel ears. The wire service account says his mom was understanding. Of what? Being told your son's pretending you died so he can get some extra money? No self-respecting working man would disrespect his mother like that.

We will give a dunce cap, however, to Randy Bartley, editor of the Jeffersonian Democrat, who accepted the fake obituary notice in good faith. Granted, he couldn't get any official confirmation, but where were his journalistic instincts? Sometimes, if it walks like a duck, that doesn't mean that it is a duck!

The Associated Press, which filed the story for national distribution, has been unable to locate Bennett. Gee, what a shock. Maybe, just maybe, the guy's got a guilty conscience after all. Enjoy the weasel ears, pal.