Mark Whitacre
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{{Infobox Criminal
| image_name =
| subject_name = Mark E. Whitacre
| date_of_birth = {{birth date and age|1957|05|01}}
| place_of_birth = [[Morrow, Ohio]]
| date_of_death =
| place_of_death =
| charge = [[wire fraud]], [[tax fraud]], [[money laundering]], [[price-fixing]]<ref name="DOJ"/>
| penalty = >10 yr. in federal prison camp (but served ca. 8 & 1/2 yrs. for good behavior)<ref name="Clemency"/>
| status =
| occupation = Currently COO & President of Operations, of a California biotechnology company, Cypress Systems, Inc.<ref name="Forbes"/>
| spouse = Married in 1979 to his high school sweetheart, Ginger (Gilbert) Whitacre<ref name="Henkoff"/><ref name="Lieber"/>
| parents =
| children = Three adult children<ref name="Lieber"/>
}}
'''Mark E Whitacre''' (born [[May 1]], [[1957]]) was the [[President]] of [[Archer Daniels Midland]]'s BioProducts Division from 1989 to 1995.<ref name="Henkoff"/> He came to public attention in 1995 when it became known that he had been acting as an informant for the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI), which was investigating Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) for [[price fixing]].<ref name="Greenwald">{{cite book |author=Greenwald, John |title=''Harvest of Subpoenas'' |publisher=Time Magazine |year=1995, July 24}}[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,983204-1,00.html]</ref><ref name="Cain 2">{{cite book |author=Cain, Tim |title=''The 'other' Whitacre chronicler'' |publisher=Decatur Herald and Review |year=2008, July 3}}[http://www.herald-review.com/articles/2008/07/04/go/news/1033846.txt]</ref> With Whitacre, the FBI had the highest-level executive ever in U.S. history to turn undercover cooperating witness.<ref name="Lieber"/> He subsequently came under investigation for [[embezzlement|embezzling]] money from ADM<ref name="AP"/>, and was convicted for his role in the price-fixing case and plead guilty to fraud. As a result, Whitacre spent over eight years in federal prison.<ref name="Commondreams"/> More than ten years later (April 6, 2008), the former FBI supervisor of the price fixing case, Dean Paisley, with backing from other FBI agents and a former prosecutor, went public with praise about Whitacre. "Had it not been for the fraud conviction," Paisley said, "he would be a national hero. Well, he is a national hero." <ref name="Cain">{{cite book |author=Cain, Tim |title=''Behind the inside man: Mark Whitacre, talks about 'The Informant,' his time in prison and moving forward'' |publisher=Decatur Herald and Review |year=2008, April 6}}[http://www.herald-review.com/articles/2008/04/06/news/local/1031549.txt]</ref><ref name="Muirhead">{{cite book |author=Muirhead, Sarah |title=''Whitacre paid ultimate price'' |publisher=Feedstuffs Magazine |year=2008, June 2 |pages=pages 1, 42, and 43}}[http://fdsmagissues.feedstuffs.com/fds/PastIssues/FDS8022/fds01_8022.pdf][http://fdsmagissues.feedstuffs.com/fds/PastIssues/FDS8022/fds42_8022.pdf][http://fdsmagissues.feedstuffs.com/fds/PastIssues/FDS8022/fds43_8022.pdf]</ref> "Without him, the biggest antitrust case we've ever had would not have been", Paisley added.<ref name="Cain"/><ref name="Muirhead"/>
==ADM price-fixing conspiracy==
===History===
In 1992, the FBI was brought in to investigate a possible case of corporate espionage against ADM. The espionage case later was found to be groundless, but during their investigation, Mark Whitacre told an FBI agent that he and other ADM executives were involved in a multinational conspiracy to control the price of [[lysine]].<ref name="Wilson"/> Over the next three years, Whitacre worked closely with FBI agents to collect information and record conversations with both ADM executives and their competitors.<ref name="Lieber"/> ADM ultimately settled federal charges for more than US$100 million and paid hundreds of millions of dollars more to plaintiffs and customers ($400 million alone on the high fructose corn syrup [[class action]] case).<ref name="Wilson">{{cite book |author=Wilson, J.K. |title=''Price-Fixer to the World'' |publisher=Bankrate.com |year=2000, December 21}}[http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/investing/20001221c.asp?prodtype=grn]</ref><ref name="Greenwald, John">{{cite book |author=Greenwald, John |title=''The fix was in at ADM'' |publisher=Time Magazine |year=1996, October 28}}[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,985379,00.html]</ref><ref name="KaplanFox">{{cite book |author=KaplanFox |title=''Archer Daniels Settles Suit Accusing it of Price Fixing'' |publisher=KaplanFox Law Firm Press Release |year=2004, July 19}}[http://www.kaplanfox.com/press.php?&id=7]</ref><ref name="FoodNavigator">{{cite book |author=Editorial Staff |title=''Sweetner Settlement for ADM'' |publisher=FoodNavigator |year=2004, June 18}}[http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/ng.asp?id=52937-sweetener-settlement-for]</ref>
It was initially Whitacre’s wife, an elementary school teacher, who forced Whitacre to become a whistleblower in 1992 by threatening to go to the FBI herself if he would not have informed the authorities of ADM’s illegal price-fixing activities.<ref name="Eichenwald"/> During the price-fixing investigation, Whitacre confessed to his FBI handlers that he had been involved with corporate [[kickback]]s and [[money laundering]] at ADM.<ref name="Eichenwald"/> He was eventually convicted of embezzling $9 million, much of which occurred while he was working with the FBI.<ref name="AP">{{cite book |author=Editorial Staff |title=''ADM's Lawsuit Could Hurt Company'' |publisher=Associated Press Wire Service |year=1996, September 19}}[http://www.lubbockonline.com/news/122996/adms.htm]</ref><ref name="DOJ">{{cite book |author=Department of Justice |title=''Former ADM Executive Pleads Guilty to Fraud'' |publisher=Department of Justice Press Release |year=1997, October 10}}[http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/1997/October97/425crm.html]</ref> His technique involved setting up a bogus offshore company, having it send ADM a fictitious invoice, and then paying off the bill under his own signature.<ref name="Eichenwald"/>
Whitacre's testimony led to internal conflict in the [[U.S. Department of Justice]].<ref name="Lieber"/> His FBI handlers argued for lenient treatment in exchange for his crucial role in uncovering the conspiracy, while the Department of Justice grew impatient with his increasingly uncooperative behavior.<ref name="Lieber"/> U.S. prosecutors eventually charged Whitacre with wire fraud, tax fraud, and money laundering.<ref name="DOJ"/>
===Sentencing===
He received a sentence of ten and a half years in federal prison, three times more than that of his co-conspirators.<ref name="Commondreams">{{cite book |author=Mokhiber, R. and Weissman, R. |title=Review: ''Rats in the Grain'' |publisher=CommonDreams.org NewsCenter |year=2000, August 8}}[http://www.commondreams.org/views/080800-101.htm]</ref><ref name="Hollywood">{{cite book |author=Editorial Staff |title=''The Informant'', the Movie |publisher=Hollywood.com |year=2005, June 18}}[http://www.hollywood.com/movie/The_Informant/3464215]</ref><ref name="Krebs"/>
Several reporters, the author of ''Rats in the Grain'', and some Department of Justice officials disagreed with the harsh ten-year sentence of Whitacre.<ref name="Clemency"/><ref name="Lieber"/><ref name="Commondreams"/><ref name="Eichenwald"/> [[Kurt Eichenwald]], formerly of the New York Times and author of ''The Informant'' was one of the harshest reporters regarding Whitacre<ref name="Guebert"/><ref name="AV Krebs">{{cite book |author=Krebs, A.V. |title=''Rats in the Grain'' author Lieber revisits ADM case |publisher=The AgriBusiness Examiner (Issue # 152) |year=2002, April 1}}[http://www.carp.ea1.com//agbiz/152.htm]</ref>, but he also concluded that Whitacre’s sentence was excessive.<ref name="Eichenwald"/> James Lieber, who authored ''Rats in the Grain'', painted a much different picture about Whitacre than Eichenwald, portraying Whitacre as an American hero who was overpowered by ADM’s vast political clout.<ref name="Lieber"/><ref name="Krebs">{{cite book |author=Krebs, A.V. |title=Review of ''Rats in the Grain'' |publisher=The AgriBusiness Examiner (Issue # 85) |year=2000, August 16}}[http://www.populist.com/00.16.krebs.html]</ref><ref name="Levins"/> Dean Paisley, formerly 25 years with the FBI including his role as the FBI supervisor of the ADM case, has supported a Whitacre Pardon for several years<ref name="Clemency"/><ref name="Lieber"/>, which is more in line with Lieber's conclusions than Eichenwald's.
Whitacre served approximately eight and a half years in a federal prison camp for fraud, price-fixing, and tax evasion.<ref name="Clemency"/><ref name="DOJ"/> Several current and former FBI and [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] officials continue to support Whitacre and are attempting to obtain Presidential [[clemency]] or a Presidential [[pardon]] in return for his substantial assistance with one of the largest price-fixing cases in history.<ref name="Clemency">{{cite book |title=Whitacre's Clemency File |publisher=U.S. Department of Justice's Pardon Attorney Office and Office of White House Counsel |year=2007}}[http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=18934291]</ref><ref name="Lieber"/> Whitacre, a [[Cornell University|Cornell]] Ph.D., is currently the [[COO]] & President, Technology and Business Development, of a California [[biotechnology]] company.<ref name="Clemency"/>
Whitacre was convicted for tax evasion and fraud and sent to prison in 1998.<ref name="Lieber"/><ref name="DOJ"/> According to the updated paperback version of "Rats in the Grain",<ref name="Lieber"/> Whitacre was a model inmate and earned several more advanced degrees while he was incarcerated in addition to his extensive [[Ph.D.]] level education. Furthermore, Whitacre was a mentor to many individuals in prison and assisted numerous young men in completing their GEDs and college degrees.<ref name="Lieber"/> His wife and three children visited him every weekend during his entire eight and a half years sentence.<ref name="Clemency"/><ref name="Lieber"/><ref name="Eichenwald"/>
===Differing accounts===
====Kurt Eichenwald====
''The Informant'' was written by [[Kurt Eichenwald]], a ''New York Times'' reporter. Eichenwald portrayed Whitacre as a complex figure who was simultaneously working very hard for the FBI as one of the best and most effective undercover cooperating witnesses the U.S. Government ever had, but also committing a $9 million [[white-collar]] fraud during the same period of time Whitacre was working for the FBI.<ref name="Eichenwald"/> Eichenwald reported that Whitacre lied to the FBI and became delusional in his failed attempt to save himself, these deceptions made the FBI investigation much more difficult, and that Whitacre was suffering from [[manic-depression]], also known as [[bipolar disorder]], according to two doctors who treated Whitacre for several years.<ref name="Eichenwald">{{cite book |author=Eichenwald, Kurt |title=The Informant |publisher=Broadway Books, Inc. |year=2000 |id=ISBN 9-78076790-327-1}}[http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_39/b3700042.htm]</ref> ''The Informant'' also focused on Whitacre's meltdown and bizarre behavior which occurred from the pressures of working for the FBI from 1992 to 1995.<ref name="France">{{cite book |author=France, Mike |title=''Pulp Nonfiction at Archer Daniels'' |publisher=Business Week |year=2000, September 25}}[http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_39/b3700042.htm]</ref>
<ref name="Stresing">{{cite book |author=Stresing, D. |title=Book review: ''The Informant'' |publisher=BookPage.com |year=2000, October 24}}[http://www.bookpage.com/0009bp/nonfiction/informant.html]</ref> Whitacre was scammed by a group in Nigeria in one of their [[advance fee fraud]]s.<ref name="Eichenwald"/> Eichenwald hinted that Whitacre's losses in the Nigerian scam may have been the initial reason behind Whitacre's fraud activity at ADM, but Lieber disagreed with this possibility in his book, ''Rats in the Grain''.<ref name="Lieber"/><ref name="Eichenwald"/> Worst of all, according to Eichenwald, Whitacre told stories to the media about how the FBI agents tried to force him to destroy some of the tapes (a story that he later recanted)<ref name="Eichenwald"/>. Eichenwald goes into great detail about Whitacre's bizarre behavior and how he "cracked under pressure", then became extremely manic, stopped sleeping during many nights, was reported to be riding horses numerous times after midnight, and was seen using a gas leaf blower on his driveway during a thunderstorm at three AM in the morning during 1994.<ref name="Eichenwald"/> Whitacre attempted suicide a few months later.<ref name="Eichenwald"/> [[Kurt Eichenwald]] concluded that Whitacre's sentence was unjust because of Whitacre's mental instability at the time and the FBI would not have had a high-level executive such as Whitacre as a cooperating witness to begin with if it was not for Whitacre's [[manic-depressive]] or [[bipolar]] tendencies.<ref name="Webber"/> Eichenwald, two [[prosecutors]], an FBI agent, and Mark Whitacre (during his incarceration) conducted an extensive radio interview with [[National Public Radio]] (NPR) on September 15, 2000 about the [[ADM]] case.
<ref name="NPR">{{cite book |author=Glass, Ira |title=''The Fix is In'' |publisher=National Public Radio Interview |year=2000, September 15}}[http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=837]</ref> Eichenwald referred to Whitacre's sentence as "excessive and a law enforcement failure" because Whitacre never received credit for his substantial cooperation in assisting the government with the massive [[price-fixing]] case.<ref name="Webber">{{cite book |author=Webber, Susan |title=''Tale of the Tapes'' |publisher=Aurora Advisors Newsletter |year=2000, September 25}}[http://www.auroraadvisors.com/articles/2000-09_dailydeal.html]</ref>
Eichenwald's account of Whitacre has been called into question by the Peoria ''Star''<ref name="Guebert">{{cite book |author=Guebert, Alan |title=''Justice comes late for key players in ADM scandal'' |publisher=Peoria Journal Star |year=2007, August 21}}[http://www.globegazette.com/articles/2007/08/19/business/doc46c7c21b69686043977334.txt]</ref> following the disclosure in August 2007 that he had paid his sources on another story.<ref name="Calderone">{{cite book |author=Calderone, Michael |title=''Kurt Eichenwald resigns from Portfolio'' |publisher=The New York Observer |year=2007, August 10}}[http://www.observer.com/2007/kurt-eichenwald-resigns-portfolio]</ref>
====James B. Lieber====
The other book, ''Rats In The Grain'', by lawyer James B. Lieber, focused more on ADM's price-fixing trial and painted a much different picture about Whitacre than Eichenwald.<ref name="Lieber"/> Lieber portrayed Whitacre as an American hero who was overpowered by ADM’s vast political clout.<ref name="Levins"/> James Lieber presented abundant evidence to build a solid case that the [[U.S. Department of Justice]] often subjugated itself to ADM's political power and well-connected attorneys in the prosecution of informant Mark Whitacre for fraud and tax evasion.<ref name="Levins">{{cite book |author=Levins, R.A. |title=Book Review of ''Rats in the Grain'' |publisher=Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm and Resource Issues |year=2001, November 5}}[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HIC/is_1_16/ai_75477934]</ref><ref name="Whitaker">{{cite book |author=Whitaker, L. |title=''Supermarket for Scandal'' |publisher=The Pennsylvania Gazette |year=2000, October 30}}[http://www.upenn.edu/gazette/1100/1100books.html]</ref>
Lieber reported that Whitacre was the highest-level executive ever to turn [[whistleblower]] in U.S. history, and that Whitacre never attempted any type of fraud during all of his years of employment prior to ADM.<ref name="Lieber"/> Lieber concluded that Whitacre's criminal activity and bizarre behavior were a direct result from the pressures which were placed on Whitacre by the FBI, and that Whitacre's [[manic-depression]] became more problematic as a result of working undercover for the FBI.<ref name="Lieber">{{cite book |author=Lieber, James B. |title=''Rats in the Grain'' |publisher=Four Walls Eight Windows, Inc. |year=2000 |id=ISBN 1-56858-142-4}}</ref> Lieber also pointed out that the FBI had much information indicating that ADM former Chairman [[Dwayne Andreas]] and former President James Randall knew about crimes going on throughout the company. Yet, the FBI was not allowed to question them – ADM's former highest ranking executives. Lieber emphasized, and Eichenwald appeared to ignore, that in 1996, “Mr. [[Dwayne Andreas]] told the ''Washington Post'' he had known about Whitacre's frauds for three years”.<ref name="Mokhiber">{{cite book |author=Mokhiber, R. and Weissman, R. |title=''Winking at Corporate Fraud'' |publisher=AlterNet.org |year=2000, August 8}}[http://www.alternet.org/story/9583/]</ref> However, Whitacre was only fired and turned into the federal authorities after ADM learned he had been working as a mole for the FBI. If he knew about it for three years, why didn't he fire Whitacre immediately, asked Lieber? “There were only two logical explanations for Andreas’ behavior: either he did not think the funds were stolen (in other words, they were approved) or he didn’t care,” wrote Lieber.<ref name="Lieber"/><ref name="Whitaker"/> Lieber concluded that fraud was widespread and an accepted practice at ADM during the 1990s.<ref name="Commondreams"/> ADM has been under new management for several years.<ref name="Lieber"/> Based on the fact that other executives committed frauds at ADM [i.e., financial fraud by a former treasurer and also technology thefts by others] and based on the fact that ADM continued to support them, Lieber concluded that ADM would have not turned Whitacre into the authorities if he had not been a mole for the FBI.<ref name="AP"/> Furthermore, Lieber posed the question of where will the government obtain the next Mark Whitacre after potential whistleblowers observe how Whitacre was treated?<ref name="Lieber"/><ref name="Cain 2"/> Like Eichenwald, Lieber also concluded that Whitacre’s lengthy prison sentence was excessive and unjust when one takes into account Whitacre's unprecedented cooperation with a much larger criminal case and his mental instability at the time.<ref name="Webber"/><ref name="Whitaker"/> Lieber stated that Whitacre should not have received any prison sentence in return for his "multiple years of unprecedented cooperation" on a much larger case.<ref name="Lieber"/>
====Dean Paisley====
More recent information (April, 2008) illustrated that the Former FBI Supervisor of the ADM case, Dean Paisley, concluded in several [[pardon]] support letters which were sent to the [[White House]] that "Whitacre’s fraud case was minuscule as compared to the ADM case Whitacre cooperated with”.<ref name="Clemency"/><ref name="Lieber"/><ref name="Cain"/><ref name="Muirhead"/><ref name="News Blaze"/> This statement was more in line with Lieber’s conclusion than Eichenwald’s. Paisley further stated that Whitacre should receive a Presidential pardon for his “substantial assistance to the U.S. Government and the sacrifices he made because of the case”.<ref name="Clemency"/> Paisley had been attempting to obtain [[clemency]] (a reduced sentence) for Whitacre with the help of other former and current FBI agents and [[prosecutor]] who were involved with Whitacre’s case.<ref name="Lieber"/> Paisley has now redirected that energy into obtaining a full Presidential pardon for Whitacre.<ref name="Clemency"/> Paisley added, in several pardon/clemency support letters, that most of the erratic behavior and financial frauds occurred during the same period of time Whitacre was working for the FBI and were a direct result of the pressures placed upon him, in his opinion.<ref name="Clemency"/> Paisley worked 25 years with the FBI and has spent a lot of his retirement time attempting to obtain clemency or a pardon for Whitacre. He stated Whitacre's sentence was a miscarriage of justice and Paisley is passionate about the U.S. government rewarding Whitacre in some fashion.<ref name="Clemency"/>
In March of 2008, Dean Paisley joined Whitacre in Washington, D.C. where they jointly met with government lawyers in order to present strong support for Executive Clemency by all three FBI agents, including Brian Shepard who maintained day-to-day contact with Mark Whitacre during the case, and one of the former prosecutors whom worked on the original case.<ref name="Forbes">{{cite book |author=Ackerman, Ruthie |title=''Whitacre’s Star Rises Again'' |publisher=Forbes |year=2008, March 27}}[http://www.forbes.com/2008/03/25/whitacre-adm-cypress-face-markets-cx_ra_0325autofacescan03.html]</ref><ref name="News Blaze">{{cite book |author=Staff writers |title=''Mark Whitacre, Ph.D. Promoted at Cypress Systems, Inc. and a Warner Bros. Movie to be Filmed About Him'' |publisher=News Blaze |year=2008, March 25}}[http://newsblaze.com/story/2008032422530100001.sp/newsblaze/SENDPRES/Send2Press.html]</ref> Dean Paisley stated, "Such strong pardon support from several current and former Department of Justice officials is unprecedented."<ref name="News Blaze"/> "Had it not been for the fraud conviction," Paisley said, "he would be a national hero. Well, he is a national hero", Paisley added.<ref name="Cain"/><ref name="Muirhead"/>
==Biography==
===Early years===
Mark Whitacre was born on [[May 1]] [[1957]] and grew up in a middle class family in southern [[Ohio]]. He was the 1975 senior class president at the Little Miami High School which is located in a very small town, north of Cincinnati, called Morrow.<ref name="Henkoff"/> He was a good student in high school but excelled when he went to college both at Ohio State University and Cornell University.<ref name="Henkoff"/><ref name="Lieber"/>
===Education===
Dr. Whitacre's extensive college education includes several college degrees.<ref name="Lieber"/> Always being in [[biotech]], his flagship degree is a [[Ph.D.]] from the [[Ivy League]] [[Cornell University]] in Ithaca, New York (1983) with a major in Nutritional Biochemistry (minors: Biochemistry and International Nutrition).<ref name="Muirhead"/> At Cornell, Whitacre studied under one of the world-renowned [[selenium]] experts, Dr. G.F. Combs, Jr., in order to conduct his Ph.D. dissertation research on the biochemical role of [[selenium]] in the pancreas.<ref name="Henkoff"/><ref name="Muirhead"/> Whitacre completed his Ph.D. at Cornell in two years.<ref name="Lieber"/> Furthermore, he holds [[B.S.]] and [[Master's degrees]] (M.S.) from the [[Ohio State University]] where he graduated in 1979 "[[Cum Laude]]" and "With Distinction" in an honor's combined program earning both degrees simultaneously within four years.<ref name="Lieber"/> He was one of a few students at [[Ohio State University]] enrolled in this special honor's program.<ref name="Lieber"/> Whitacre's education also includes two law degrees, both the J.D. ([[Juris Doctor]]) and [[LLM]], from Northwestern California University in Sacramento, California. Whitacre continued to study after Cornell University by correspondence in order to obtain a [[Master of Business Administration]] (MBA) degree from Kensington University.<ref name="Lieber"/> In addition, during his incarceration where there were few graduate-level colleges to choose from, Whitacre earned two more Ph.D.'s, one in Psychology and the other in Business, by correspondence from the same university.<ref name="Lieber"/> Kensington University is widely regarded as having been a "diploma mill" before it was eventually shut down by state regulators and Northwestern California University, while legitimately operating, is unaccredited.
===Career===
Whitacre is an executive with almost two decades of management experience which include positions as [[CEO]]/President.<ref name="Henkoff"/><ref name="Lieber"/> Most of Whitacre's executive experience was obtained at [[Fortune 500]] companies (i.e., ADM, Degussa, and Ralston Purina) prior to heading entrepreneurial companies.<ref name="Henkoff"/> Whitacre became the President of the BioProducts Division for ADM).<ref name="Eichenwald"/> ADM has $36 billion in annual revenues. Whitacre was responsible for the BioProducts Division from its inception and it became one of the largest [[Industrial fermentation|fermentation]] complexes in the world in less than six years.<ref name="Henkoff"/> Hired by ADM in 1989 at the age of 32, Whitacre was the youngest Divisional President in the history of the company.<ref name="Lieber"/> Shortly thereafter, in 1992 at the age of 35, he also became a Corporate Vice President of ADM and an Officer of the company.<ref name="Lieber"/><ref name="Eichenwald"/> Furthermore, he was considered the leading candidate to become the next company president according to a 1995 front cover ''[[Fortune Magazine]]'' article.<ref name="Henkoff">{{cite book |author=Henkoff, Ronald |title=''My Life as a Mole for the FBI'' |publisher=Fortune Magazine |year=1995, September 4}}[http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1995/09/04/205874/index.htm]</ref> Furthermore, his experience is international in scope having lived approximately four years in Europe, and fluent in the German language. Whitacre was also responsible for businesses in S.E. Asia for two large international companies, and traveled to Asia dozens of times conducting business activities.<ref name="Henkoff"/><ref name="Lieber"/> In 2006, Whitacre joined a California [[biotechnology]] company, Cypress Systems, as their COO & President, Technology and Business Development.<ref name="Clemency"/> In March of 2008, Whitacre was promoted to the company's Chief Operating Officer (COO) and President of Operations.<ref name="Forbes"/><ref name="News Blaze"/>
===Family===
Mark Whitacre married Ginger Gilbert, his high school sweetheart, in 1979. The Whitacres adopted two children aged five and seven in 1985, months before their biological son was born, in order for the two siblings to be able to stay in the same family.<ref name="Lieber"/><ref name="MarkWhitacre.com">[http://www.markwhitacre.com/family.html Mark Whitacre<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==Upcoming movie==
A Warner Brothers' feature film is currently being filmed about Whitacre. ''[[The Informant (2009 true story film)| The Informant]]'' is directed by [[Steven Soderbergh]] and produced by Jennifer Fox, with [[Matt Damon]] playing the role of Mark Whitacre.<ref name="Hollywood"/> The script for the movie was written by Scott Z. Burns, based upon Kurt Eichenwald’s book, ''The Informant''. Most of the filming was done in Central Illinois ([[Moweaqua%2C_Illinois|Moweaqua]] and Decatur).<ref name="Tim Cain">{{cite book |author=Cain, Tim |title=''Don't expect 'Informant' hobnobbing'' |publisher=Decatur Herald and Review |year=2008, March 19}}[http://herald-review.com/articles/2008/03/19/columnists/cain/1030816.txt]</ref> The filming has been completed and currently in post-production. It is expected to be released March 27, 2009.
==Pardon support from FBI agents and Chuck Colson==
Whitacre has numerous supporters who continue to lobby for a Presidential [[Pardon]] [Clemency].<ref name="Clemency"/><ref name="Lieber"/><ref name="Cain"/><ref name="Muirhead"/> According to letters filed to Pardon Attorney at [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] and to President [[George W. Bush]], this position is also strongly supported by Dean Paisley, the former Springfield, Illinois FBI supervisor in charge of the ADM case-who wrote numerous letters to the [[White House]] in support of Whitacre.<ref name="Clemency"/> There is some evidence that then-Chairman of ADM, [[Dwayne Andreas]], exerted undue political influence at the time on focusing the case away from the company and toward Whitacre, according to Lieber who also wrote several pardon letters in support of Whitacre to the Department of Justice and the White House.<ref name="Lieber"/> Dwayne Andreas was a friend of several former [[U.S. presidents]]. A more recent letter to the Pardon Attorney at the Department of Justice from Paisley, who was with the FBI for 25 years prior to his retirement, illustrated some concern that ADM executives may be influencing the decision-through ADM's tremendous political clout-whether Whitacre's pardon is granted or not.<ref name="Clemency"/> ADM has donated millions of dollars to both political parties.<ref name="Lieber"/>
Whitacre's clemency petition is supported by other FBI agents involved with Whitacre's case in addition to Paisley, by a former [[Attorney General of the United States]], and surprisingly by one of the former Chicago Asst. U.S. Attorneys who prosecuted Whitacre.<ref name="Clemency"/><ref name="News Blaze"/> Two of the Canadian Dept. of Justice's [[prosecutors]] also wrote to the Attorney General and Pardon Attorney at the Department of Justice in support of a pardon. Furthermore, several [[United States Senate|Senators]] and [[United States House of Representatives|Congressmen]], [[Cornell University]] and [[Ohio State University]] Professors, Baseball Hall of Famer [[Harmon Killebrew]], and numerous top executives of corporations have written the White House in support of clemency.<ref name="Clemency"/><ref name="News Blaze"/> One of the most active in supporting clemency for Whitacre is [[Chuck Colson]], former Special White House Counsel under President [[Richard Nixon]].<ref name="News Blaze"/> Colson is the Founder and Chairman of [[Prison Fellowship]] Ministries and has taken a strong interest in Whitacre's case. He has personally taken Whitacre's case to the [[White House]].<ref name="Clemency"/> Whitacre's clemency petition is unprecedented because of the strong support from the very people who indicted him, stated Paisley.<ref name="News Blaze"/> Paisley further stated in some pardon letters that he visited Whitacre during his incarceration "to say thank you to Whitacre for his substantial assistance to the U.S. Government".<ref name="Clemency"/> Although Whitacre has been released, Paisley continues (as of March, 2008) to be in contact with the Justice Department and the White House Counsel's Office regarding Whitacre's pardon.<ref name="Clemency"/><ref name="Forbes"/><ref name="News Blaze"/>
Numerous plaintiff lawyers, who lead the Class Action lawsuits against ADM for price-fixing, have supported Whitacre with several letters to the White House in support of a pardon.<ref name="Clemency"/><ref name="News Blaze"/> It was stated "they absolutely had no case without Whitacre and he should have been commended for his sacrifices on such an historical case".<ref name="Clemency"/> ADM paid hundreds of millions of dollars-with $400 million alone in the High Fructrose Corn Syrup case-to the plaintiffs who ADM defrauded during their [[price-fixing]] schemes in order to settle the Class Action lawsuits.<ref name="KaplanFox"/> In addition, ADM, the other lysine and citric acid producers, and the European vitamin producers paid more than $1 billion in criminal fines to the U.S. Government because of price-fixing.<ref name="Eichenwald"/>
==Current position==
Whitacre joined a California biotechnology company in 2006 as the company's COO & President, Technology & Business Development.<ref name="Clemency"/> One of Cypress' flagship products is [[selenium]] and therefore, the new position takes Whitacre back to his original roots at [[Cornell University]] where he researched the biochemical role of selenium in the prevention of diseases. Most of Cypress' research focuses on a variety of [[cancer]]s. In March of 2008, Whitacre was promoted to the company's Chief Operating Officer (COO) and President of Operations.<ref name="Forbes"/><ref name="News Blaze"/>
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
==External links==
*[http://www.markwhitacre.com/ Cypress Systems' official 2008 biography website of Mark Whitacre]
*[http://reentrysuccessstories.com/stories/markwhitacre.html Prison Re-entry Success Stories including Mark Whitacre]
*[http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=18934291 Whitacre becomes COO & President and pardon support from the FBI agents]
*[http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1995/09/04/205874/index.htm ''Fortune Magazine'' article by Ronald Henkoff, September 4, 1995]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitacre, Mark}}
[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Archer Daniels Midland]]
[[Category:Cornell University alumni]]
[[Category:Ohio State University alumni]]
[[Category:American businesspeople]]
[[Category:American white-collar criminals]]
[[Category:Whistleblowers]]
[[Category:Corporate scandals]]
[[Category:American money launderers]]