Logan County, Colorado’s Chamber of Commerce takes pride in their annual Toys for Tots drive. They were equally proud to have been given permission set up a drop-off box at a local Wal-Mart. Organizer Susan Kraich visited the Wal-Mart regularly, watching the box fill up. Then she went to collect the donations. They were gone. Stolen, in a sense, but not by some desperate junkie. All the clothing, sporting goods, food and toys that filled the box when Kraich had seen it last had been put back on Wal-Mart shelves and resold.

“We had no way of knowing whether or not those items had been paid for,” explained Wal-Mart manager Brad Barritt. When in doubt, go for the profits. When Kraich complained, Barritt agreed to replace the items proven to be actual donations. Kraich couldn’t prove anything beyond the three toys she herself had donated. That’s all she got back. :

» Scott Saxon