Ronn Torossian Admits To "Ethical Lapses" Amid News Site Controversy; PRovokeMedia, February 23, 2022

 Diana Marszalek, PRovokeMedia ; Ronn Torossian Admits To "Ethical Lapses" Amid News Site Controversy

"After finally admitting to owning Everything-PR, 5WPR founder and CEO Ronn Torossian apologized for his lack of transparency on the issue, acknowledging making “missteps including ethical lapses and errors in judgment” during the 20-year history of his firm...

Torossian’s apology comes following Crain’s New York Business’s report last week that he does indeed own Everything-PR, despite years of denial, and used the site to boost his own firm while slamming other agencies...

“In addition to being a cowardly and blatant violation of PRSA's Code of Ethics, Ronn’s actions are a stain on our profession and undermine our role as guardians of facts and integrity for those we serve. We strongly condemn his and his firm’s direct role in perpetrating disinformation while pretending to be a legitimate industry news site," said PRSA-NY's board said in a statement."

2 Sentenced to House Arrest in Long-Running Scheme to Steal Rare Books; The New York Times, June 20, 2020

Michael Levenson, The New York Times; 2 Sentenced to House Arrest in Long-Running Scheme to Steal Rare Books

[Kip Currier: We've been exploring this egregious breach of public trust and abject dereliction of institutional leadership as a case study in the new The Information Professional in the Community graduate course I launched this term.

Glaring and appallingly negligent instances of organizational malfeasance and breach of fiduciary responsibility -- over the course of more than 20 years -- are replete throughout this sordid saga. Much, if not all, of what was perpetrated by the morally-deficient defendants, archivist Gregory Priore and local bookshop owner John Schulman, was foreseeable and preventable by those charged with the duties of safeguarding and shepherding our cultural heritage and scientific treasure. Organizational leaders and Boards should also be held accountable for these kinds of ethical lapses and fiduciary failures that occur on their watches.]

"Patrick Dowd, board chair of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, said the thefts “will forever raise doubts about the security of all future charitable donations, particularly to the Carnegie Library.”"

Retired NBA commissioner David Stern went off about cheating and ethics; Quartz, 11/19/16

Oliver Staley, Quartz; Retired NBA commissioner David Stern went off about cheating and ethics:

"Cheating and ethical lapses are pervasive, from soccer stars evading taxes and state-sanctioned doping in the Olympics, to companies giving lip-service to social responsibility while gouging customers, Stern said Nov. 18 at a forum about business ethics and leadership hosted by Columbia Business School...

“It’s too easy,” he said. “Every company has a head of corporate responsibility, you form a foundation, you give all your employees Friday off to do charity, blah, blah, blah. Then you fix prices at a business association meeting.”

He took aim at Facebook, which said it has misreported how many people view its ads, and allowed the spread of fake news on its platform. The directors of venture-capital backed companies need to speak up, he said. “Where are the boards?” he said."