“...are you all going to be first officers all your lives...any true Captains out there?”
Pilotbear,
Your question reduces all aspects of this sorry tale to its very essence.
Some of the posts here display a thinly veiled admiration for the shyster Edgeworth and his ‘business’ practices.
The concept of trust and essential honesty is now considered to be a weakness to be exploited at every turn.
The meteoric trajectory of Edgeworth to the pinnacle of his ‘Captaincy’ could not have happened without high level political collusion and the tacit approval of the IAA.
I believe it’s standard practice to track the money trail in these types of crimes.
In this particular case it might be enlightening to follow the ink of authorising signatures and stamps and then scout around for the empty brown envelopes.