People have been chuckling for the last week or so over the uncovering of the theft of $30 million dollars worth of maple syrup from Canada’s Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve. My wife had, I think, the most appropriate reaction. She laughed and said “There’s a Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve?”
It might be fun to round up all of the waggish reactions to the story but a $30 million theft is actually no laughing matter. If I had to make a guess about what happened, I think I’d start looking at the shipping and receiving process. I wonder if that missing maple syrup was ever actually there. That’s a lot of maple syrup and it doesn’t sound to me like something that could easily go unnoticed. I’m guessing we’re talking about between a half million and a million gallons.
Hey, man. This is no laughing matter. What about my Sunday morning French Toast?
Seriously. Anyone in business, especially if dealing in bulk commodities, knows you have to watch it like a hawk. We had a business where epoxy resin slabs were going out the back door, and one where drums of flour were disappearing, some speculated to, shall we say, entrepreneurs of Italian decent. Let your mind wander a bit about what stolen flour might have been used for……and it ain’t to bake cakes.
Unless my calculations are way off we’re talking about 10,000 50-gallon drums of syrup. That’s no casual theft or a few drums being pilfered or mislaid here or there.
@Dave Schuler
Yeah, that much may have been diverted over time during the shipment process. Inside job by whomever handles the paperwork?
Similar reaction to the theft of $53 million by a city employee in the town of Dixon, IL (pop. 16,000) . . . Dixon had $53 million to steal?
“Unless my calculations are way off we’re talking about 10,000 50-gallon drums of syrup. That’s no casual theft or a few drums being pilfered or mislaid here or there.”
Correct. When I was in the steel industry, there were big time frauds. Way big time. Dave, I’m sure you are familiar with Wolf Lake in NW Indiana. Do I need to say more?
Ben, it’s always an inside deal. Always. And it can be a big inside deal.
We ain’t in Kansas anymore……..