Wally Street is your brother-in-law. Your sister fell for his infectious charm and his unbeatable sense of style. Wally was always the life and soul of the party. Everybody wanted to be his friend. Women were attracted to him. You suspected he was cheating on your sister, but you could never really prove it. Your always thought there was something dubious, something not quite right, with Wally. But he was always courteous and generous with you. And your sister seemed happy, which was what mattered most.
Wally was rich, and he enjoyed living the good life. You were never quite sure where his money came from, as he never really seemed to work very hard. You had the impression he was a gambler, but that didn’t seem right – he couldn’t win consistently in a life of gambling. And Wally did win consistently. The big house. The fancy car. The five-star hotels. The best restaurants. Wally had it all.
And then it all came crashing down. You still remember that day back in the Fall of 2008, when Wally banged on your door at 3am. He was frantic, and looked uncharacteristically dishevelled. He was desperate, he told you. He was on the verge of bankruptcy. He was about to lose everything, and he would be penniless. He had made some bad financial decisions, and gotten involved with some shady characters. He had tapped his loan shark friends to tide him over, but they told him to take a hike. You were his last resort, he told you. You were the only think keeping him – and your sister – from despair and ruin.
What could you do? You had no choice, really. There was no way you could put your sister and her children through this. You had to help Wally. He was asking for a lot, but you had the money. He promised he would repay you. So you gave him the check. He was family, so of course you didn’t charge interest. But you were also angry, and spoke sternly to Wally. “I don’t know what you’ve been mixed up with,” you said, “but you need to sort yourself out, find a real job, and take care of your family. You’re not a kid anymore. Grow up.” Wally was filled with remorse and gratitude. He said he would mend his ways. Yes, he admitted to making mistakes. Yes, he thought he could make the right bets and “investments”, and he wouldn’t have to work for a living. He said he would use the money you gave him to tide him over, and he would immediately look for a job, and then pay you back. He said he was a changed man.
But he wasn’t. Wally took your money and immediately went back to his old habits. He never really did look for that job. Instead, he reached out to his cronies and went back to his old life. Since he was once more flush with cash, his cronies opened their doors and their arms. And Wally started winning again. He gave you back your money. But gone was the courtesy. He broke off contact with you. He was constantly fighting with your sister.
You also started to learn things about Wally. Yes, he was a high-stakes gambler. But there was worse. You learned that he made a lot of money ripping off gullible old women, who were swayed by his roguish charm. He would promise them a great investment, and make off with their money. One day, you confronted him over this, and he became angry, angrier than you had ever seen him before. He broke off contact.
Your reached out to your sister. You were worried about her. But she didn’t want to dig up any skeletons. She preferred to live in denial. You told her that Wally had lied to you, had taken advantage of you, had taken your money under false pretences. She didn’t want to know. So now you were angry. You told her that Wally would never again get a cent from you, and that you would write that in a letter to him to make your point.
When Wally found out about this, he was livid. He hadn’t spoken to you in a while. But now he was spreading all kinds of rumors about you, ugly lies. Thugs started to follow you in the streets. People started giving your funny looks. You found out that Wally was paying people trash your reputation, and hiring private detectives to follow your around, all to intimidate you. Some of your clients stopped returning your calls. Your business was suffering. And Wally continued to thrive.
You are still angry. And afraid. You now know there is only one solution. Wally will never change. Your sister needs to divorce him, and find someone with a real job, someone who will take care of her. And Wally himself needs to go to jail. But you sigh in silent despair as you realize that neither of those things is likely to happen. Wally has too many friends in high places. Nothing will ever change.
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