ABSTRACT
Eddie Antar should have been a rich entrepreneur. When “Crazy Eddie” opened his first retail electronics store in 1968, he entered the right business at the right time. The consumer electronics market grew exponentially during the next 20 years as new products such as microwave ovens, VCRs, CD players, and personal computers became must-have items in US households. In addition to inflating revenues, Eddie and Sammy overstated the company’s inventory. Like most retailers, Crazy Eddie conducted a physical count at the end of its fiscal year to determine its inventory balance. During its early years, Crazy Eddie was audited by a New York accounting firm named Penn and Harwood. The firm was so small that the fees received from Crazy Eddie comprised more than one-third of the firm’s total revenue. In July 1993, a jury convicted Eddie Antar of 17 counts of conspiracy, fraud, and racketeering.
