DENYING THE GUILTY MIND: ACCOUNTING FOR INVOLVEMENT IN A WHITE-COLLAR CRIME*

This study of convicted white-collar offenders treats their explanations for involvement in criminal activities. It focuses specifically on the techniques that are used to deny criminality. The strategies used to accomplish this end are detailed. It is suggested that the accounts developed by white-collar offenders to explain involvement in criminal activities are structured by the mechanics, histories, and organizational formats of offenses and by the requirement that they defeat the conditions of successful degradation ceremonies. In conclusion, some preliminary observations concerning the causes of white-collar crime are made.