supergrass
supergrass
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May 14th, 2017 at 4:47:19 AM permalink
1) I tell the CEO “you must quit else I will publish your nude photo.”
2) I tell the CEO “you must quit else I will show police the tape where you stole money from a stranger.”
3) I tell the CEO “you must quit else I will tell your wife that you are sleeping with XXX.”
4) I tell the CEO “you must quit else I will write this company email explaining how incompetent you are."
5) I tell the CEO “you must invite me to your weekend party, else I will tell everyone I hate you."

So 1 is illegal. 4 and 5 are probably legal. Not sure about 2 or 3.
How does one decide if something is illegal blackmailing?
supergrass
supergrass
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May 14th, 2017 at 4:56:04 AM permalink
Sorry, I thought this section is for any topic. I saw titles like "TRUMP'S FIRST 100 DAYS" and "STOCK PICKS"

Please delete it or move it to a better category.
darkoz
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May 14th, 2017 at 6:00:24 AM permalink
Blackmail is illegal if u can prove it was a serious offence regardless of how it is done

Blackmailing your friend to giv up his breakfast sandwich is not going to be taken seriously.

I wouldn't try it with casino execs. They are notoriously unfunny
For Whom the bus tolls; The bus tolls for thee
beachbumbabs
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May 14th, 2017 at 6:21:13 AM permalink
Quote: supergrass

Sorry, I thought this section is for any topic. I saw titles like "TRUMP'S FIRST 100 DAYS" and "STOCK PICKS"

Please delete it or move it to a better category.



I think it's an appropriate sub-forum and does not need to be moved.
If the House lost every hand, they wouldn't deal the game.
DRich
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May 14th, 2017 at 6:50:43 AM permalink
The goal should be to keep it all hypothetical or vague to minimize your liability.

Why not ask the CEO if he thinks it is best for a CEO to resign to avoid a scandal involving nude photos, theft, and infidelity? Let him draw his own conclusion.
At my age, a "Life In Prison" sentence is not much of a deterrent.
billryan
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May 14th, 2017 at 9:14:01 AM permalink
I'd call it extortion.
The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction is supposed to make sense.
LuckyPhow
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onenickelmiracle
May 14th, 2017 at 11:25:30 AM permalink
Quote: billryan

I'd call it extortion.



I'd call THAT fake grammar. In your reply, nothing is received by the individual doing the so-called extortion. Here's the definition:

Quote: Definition of Extortion

A criminal offense of obtaining money, property, or services from an individual or institution, through coercion.



The way the country seems to be operating today, I'm not sure any of those items listed by supergrass would be considered extortion if spoken by someone high in public office. With politics today, I think many would call it "ordinary and customary business."

Sort of like casinos: You can gamble here as long as you are not winning. Otherwise, your player card just got canceled, and security will escort you from the premises as a persona non grata. Just like with the politicians, the casino's only concern is whether or not your check for a marker cleared for payment.

Being Lucky ain't as much fun as it was once upon a time, don'cher know?
billryan
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May 14th, 2017 at 1:46:56 PM permalink
Outside of the pyschobabble,I notice you didn't quote the definition of blackmail. I wonder why.
The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction is supposed to make sense.
gordonm888
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May 14th, 2017 at 2:37:41 PM permalink
Blackmail is "the action, treated as a criminal offense, of demanding money from a person in return for not revealing compromising or injurious information about that person."

"Extortion is the crime of obtaining money or property by threat to a victim's property or loved ones, intimidation, or false claim of a right." Extortion usually involves the threat of FORCE or VIOLENCE.

So these notional situations are instances of blackmail, not extortion.
Last edited by: gordonm888 on May 14, 2017
So many better men, a few of them friends, are dead. And a thousand thousand slimy things live on, and so do I.
DiscreteMaths2
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May 14th, 2017 at 2:46:39 PM permalink
Remember, even if your hypothetical situation manages to skirt criminal law its very easy to find yourself at the wrong end of a civil suit, especially if you ruin someone's career. Doesn't mean they will win necessarily but you need to factor that in.
Assume the worst, believe no one, and make your move only when you are certain that you are unbeatable or have, at worst, exceptionally good odds in your favor.
billryan
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May 14th, 2017 at 3:37:24 PM permalink
Quote: gordonm888

Blackmail is "the action, treated as a criminal offense, of demanding money from a person in return for not revealing compromising or injurious information about that person."

"Extortion is the crime of obtaining money or property by threat to a victim's property or loved ones, intimidation, or false claim of a right." Extortion usually involves the threat of FORCE or VIOLENCE.

So these notional situations are instances of blackmail, not force.



In neither case was money a demand.
Several years ago, a woman was convicted of extorting Bill Crosby by threatening to go public with the allegation she was his daughter. Extortion does not have to involve force or violence.
The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction is supposed to make sense.
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