''The Informant: A True Story'' is a

nonfiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to present topics objectively ...

white-collar crime The term "white-collar crime" refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non-directly violent crime committed by individuals, businesses and government professionals. The crimes are believed to be committed by middle- or upper-class indivi ...

book written by journalist

Kurt Eichenwald Kurt Alexander Eichenwald (born June 28, 1961) is an American journalist and a ''New York Times'' bestselling author of five books, one of which, '' The Informant'' (2000), was made into a motion picture in 2009. He was a senior writer and in ...

and published in 2000 by

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

. It documents the mid-1990s

lysine price-fixing conspiracy The lysine price-fixing conspiracy was an organized effort during the mid-1990s to raise the price of the animal feed additive lysine. It involved five companies that had commercialized high-tech fermentation technologies, including Archer Daniels ...

case and the involvement of

Archer Daniels Midland The Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, commonly known as ADM, is an American multinational food processing and commodities trading corporation founded in 1902 and headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. The company operates more than 270 p ...

executive Mark Whitacre, inspiring a 2009 film adaptation starring

Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon ( ; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. He was ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars in 2007, and in 2010 was one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received va ...

as Whitacre.

Summary

In the early 1990s, at the

agri-business Agribusiness is the Industry (economics), industry, Business, enterprises, and the field of study of Agribusiness value chain, value chains in agriculture and in the Bioeconomy, bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-ent ...

conglomerate

(ADM), Mark Whitacre is a corporate vice president and head of the bio-products division. In November 1992, under pressure from his wife, Whitacre confesses to an

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

agent that he, along with other ADM executives, routinely met with competitors to fix the price of

lysine Lysine (symbol Lys or K) is an α-amino acid that is a precursor to many proteins. Lysine contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated form when the lysine is dissolved in water at physiological pH), an α-carboxylic acid group ( ...

, a food additive. Afterwards, Whitacre assists in gathering evidence against the other conspirators by secretly taping their activities during overseas business meetings. Over the course of three years, the FBI collects hundreds of hours of video and audio tapes documenting the largest case of price-fixing in history. Whitacre is revealed to have defrauded $9 million from ADM at the same time he was aiding the FBI. After federal agents stage a raid on ADM, the company hits back with damning evidence against the government's star witness. Whitacre becomes delusional and engages in pathological lying to save himself, leading the FBI to learn that he suffers from

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

. Worst of all, he gives false stories to the media about being forced to destroy evidence by the FBI. Whitacre becomes extremely manic, stops sleeping, and exhibits bizarre behavior as his meltdown continues. He attempts suicide a few months later, but is saved by his groundskeeper. After seeing the movie '' The Firm'', Whitacre's delusional fantasy causes him to record and collect his conversations with FBI agents. Because he violated his immunity agreement with the government, Whitacre is charged with price-fixing along with the other ADM conspirators. Whitacre's attorney, James Epstein, successfully convinces the

Justice Department A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

officials that the government was culpable for Whitacre's behavior as he was emotionally unprepared for the case. Epstein manages to get a very light sentence for Whitacre. However, Whitacre, unwilling to serve any jail time, fires Epstein. At his trial, Whitacre is convicted and receives a federal prison sentence three times longer than the other conspirators. Whitacre's FBI handlers, along with

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

John Ashcroft John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) is an American lawyer, Lobbying, lobbyist, and former politician who served as the 79th United States attorney general under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. A Republican Party (United States), R ...

, attempt to obtain a

presidential pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

for Whitacre. With remarkable support from the FBI and his wife, Whitacre recovers from his mental problems and, after leaving prison, is promoted to COO and president of a California biotechnology company. The guilty parties in the price-fixing conspiracy, including ADM, pay hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and fines, while several ADM executives serve prison time.

Film adaptation

The book was used as the basis for the movie ''The Informant!'', directed by

Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh ( ; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. A pioneer of modern Independent film, independent cinema, Soderbergh later drew acclaim for formally inventiv ...

and starring

as Mark Whitacre.

References

External links

The Informant — Kurt Eichenwald
— official

website
''This American Life'' #168: The Fix Is In
(RealAudio) — interview with Mark Whitacre and the book's author,

, from ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' is a weekly hour-long American radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internationally, and is ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Informant (Book) 2000 non-fiction books Agriculture books Archer Daniels Midland American non-fiction books Books about bipolar disorder Books about companies Non-fiction books adapted into films Commercial crimes Ethics books Price fixing convictions Random House books