Chapter 37 Conflict of Interest

I worked in the R&D division under John Mihm and had been there for five years.  Wanting to further my career, I personally requested a transfer to an operating group and got one to the Gulf Coast Exploration group in Houston.  A bunch of us were transferred to Houston in 1986.  I arrived in Houston New Years night 1987.

Earlier that year before I was officially notified I was getting a transfer by the company, I was walking through the Frank Phillips Building Tunnel connecting to the Phillips National, I mean First National Bank.  The greeter sitting at the desk, was some one with whom I had a passing acquaintance.  You can imagine my surprise when she, as I walked by said " Hi, I understand, you're going to be leaving us?"  I assured her that I wasn't going anywhere as far as I knew.   When she say I was mystified she suddenly got sheepishly quiet.

 

You see First National Bank held the mortgage on my house. 

As it turned out apparently the people at the bank knew before I did that I was getting a transfer.  It was either a reflection of the close working relationship the bank had with the company, or someone with inside information was leaking information on pending transfers of employees.  

 

I never found out if there was any kind of sweetheart deal going with realtors or something shady, but if the info was leaked to this realtor or that, it would give them a leg up on the competition.   

To me it stunk to high heaven.  I seem to recall there was some noise about Mr. Mihm giving his wife inside into, and that there was some fallout over it.   

You can imagine what would have happened to your average Joe employee if he’d done something so egregious.  Public flogging, drawing and quartering followed by hanging of the remains would not have been adequate enough I bet. 

But remember the Golden Rule: "They who have the gold, make the rules."

 

As it was the housing market was so flooded at the time, the company bought my house and held it off the market for about six months to keep the prices higher before it was finally sold.  A guy who was dating a gal I was also dating at the time (my future wife #2 as it turned out) and was showing off all the work I had done in the house, the kitchen remodel and floors.  It was funny because I had taken her over to the house on one lunch hour before it was put back on the market and gave her a grand tour.  I knew how to get into the house even though I did not have a key any longer.  I went by the house a few years ago, and the privacy fence I put up back in 1982 is still standing.  They did at some time replace the arched oak front door with a modern piece of shit.  The old siding was replaced and a new roof and A/C was put on it before the guy bought it, so he got a bargain.  It was a nice old house.  It is the red brick one with the brick front porch, with a very steep pitched roof, almost gingerbread looking, just two houses up from the Cherokee Street split north of the high school.  A few blocks south of the Frank Phillips Mansion.