"Cheats never prosper"... a saying that has been recorded as early as the 19th century and is still in use today. There must be a reason for it's long-lasting usage right? First let's take a look at what it means. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable it means that dishonest efforts will not bring real success. To really find out if that is true we'll need to look at some real world examples. This brings me to my first point which is the "illegal dumping" of polychlorinated  biphenyls (PCB's) into what is now known as the Dewey Loeffel Landfill.

This local issue began in 1952 when General Electric (G.E.) arranged with landowner Dewey Loeffel to use 11 acres of his land to dump about 46,000 tons of carcinogenic materials in a span of 16 years (1952-1968). They arranged to have the chemicals stored in 500 surface drums and four 30,000 gallon oil storage tanks. You may be thinking what's wrong with that, nothing right? That may be so but the problem is that Dewey stored them in the ground instead of the containers to make room for more chemicals and G.E. stood by and let it happen. As a major result of they're actions the nearby environment and watershed was destroyed. For several years the state made Dewey Loeffel pay for cleanup which eventually lead him to bankruptcy. G.E. has already paid $20 million and is ready to pay $10 million more for cleanup. Also the residents of the nearby counties ( Rennsalear and Columbia ) are still paying for the cleanup every day. After reading that, one may now start to get a glimpse at the consequences of cheating. For my next example we'll take a look at the effects cheating could have in sports. My second example is the "Deflategate" scandal. Yes I know one could say it's biased because I'm a Giants fan (even though I don't really care about football) and that it's not a serious issue but it is still a good example of cheating and the consequences it could bare.

If you do not know what the "Deflategate" scandal is let me quickly summarize it. Basically the New England Patriots intentionally under inflated the footballs used in a game they played against the Indianapolis Colts to make it easier for them to catch the footballs. As a punishment Tom Brady (the quarterback) was suspended for four games and the team was fined $1 million dollars. The team also lost two draft picks. This example provides even more evidence that cheating can cost you a lot of money. This exemplifies the consequences of cheating in sports. My third example will show the effects of cheating in politics. This example is of course the Richard Nixon Watergate scandal.

The Watergate Scandal started with the robbery of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in the Watergate building in Washington D.C. on June 17, 1972. Five robbers were attempting wiretap phones and steal secret documents. It was found out that the robbers were connected to Nixon's reelection campaign. It is not known for sure if Nixon knew about the robbery before it happened, but he covered it up afterwards. In July of 1973 it was revealed that Nixon taped a lot of his phone conversations. A prosecutor demanded Nixon to turn them over to him, but Nixon denied saying it was his presidential right to keep recorded conversations private. By June, 1974 the Supreme Court ordered that the tapes be turned over and said it was not the President's right to keep them private. When the tapes were turned over prosecutors heard Nixon talking about the cover up. Nixon was faced with the idea of impeachment and decided that he would resign. That made him the first president to ever resign. As you can see they're are some pretty major consequences to cheating in politics. Now to my fourth point which is cheating in business. What better way to show cheating in business than Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme.

You could go into so much detail talking about Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, but that would take a long time so I will sum it up. Madoff got rich investors to invest in his "company" promising a 10-12 percent stock increase. He paid older investors with the money from new investors which meant no real profit was being made. The little profit being made Madoff used for his own personal needs. It all fell apart for Madoff when his thousands of clients began requesting as much as $7 billion back when he only had $200-$300 billion to give back. Madoff stole a total of $50 billion. He was sentenced to 150 years in prison. It is now quite clear to see why cheating in business is not a good idea. It can cost you the rest of your life. For my final example I will be looking at cheating in school. I will look at the Atlanta Public School cheating scandal.

The Atlanta Public School cheating scandal began in 2009 when an analysis of the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) showed statistically unlikely test scores. It included extraordinary gains or losses in a single year. In July of 2011 the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) released an investigation that found that 44 out of 56 schools cheated on the  2009 CRCT. 178 teachers and principals were found to have corrected students' answers. On September 29, 2015 eleven of twelve teachers were convicted on racketeering charges. As punishment the teachers convicted were sentenced to time in jail, fines, community service, or a mix of the three (the exact charges will be listed at the end of the essay curtesy of Wikipedia)

After looking at 5 different examples of cheating in the real world and the consequences they bring one could say that...well of course, Cheats never prosper. I believe it's safe to say that in life cheating really does not lead to a happy and prosperous life.

Donald Bullock: Weekends in jail for 6 months, $5,000 fine, 5 years of probation and 1,500 hours of community service.
Sharon Davis-Williams: 20 years in prison, to serve seven, $25,000 fine and 2,000 hours of community service.
Tamara Cotman: 20 years in prison, to serve seven, $25,000 fine and 2,000 hours of community service.
Michael Pitts: 20 years in prison, to serve seven, $25,000 fine and 2,000 hours of community service.
Dana Evans: 5 years in prison, one to serve, and 1,000 hours of community service.
Angela Williamson: 5 years in prison, two to serve, $5,000 fine and 1,500 hours of community service.
Tabeeka Jordan: 5 years in prison, two to serve, $5,000 fine and 1,500 hours of community service.
Diane Buckner-Webb: 5 years in prison, one to serve, $1,000 fine, 1,000 hours in community service and first offender treatment.
Theresia Copeland: 5 years in prison, one to serve, $1,000 fine and 1,000 hours of community service.
Pamela Cleveland: 5 years probation, home confinement for a year from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. and community service.
Sentences for Cotman, Pitts & Davis-Williams were reduced from 7 to 3 years and fines to $10,000.00.