A very smart woman I know says of men who cheat, “once a cheat, always a cheat.”  She firmly believes that if a man (or woman) cheats on his spouse, odds are pretty high that he’ll do it again.  But if someone cheats at one thing, is it also pretty certain they’ll cheat at other things? 

I couldn’t help but wonder about that when I heard the latest news about Bernie Madoff.  Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Bernie Madoff and his Ponzi scheme bilked investors out of $50 billion.  Now comes the news that he had a long term affair with Sheryl Weinstein, a woman who invested millions of dollars with Madoff on behalf of Hadassah.  She also invested all the money she and her husband had (yes, she was married, she’s a cheater, too).  The media coverage is reporting the “latest shocking news” about Madoff.  But is it so surprising that Madoff was cheating on his wife?   He cheated at investing, carrying on his Ponzi scheme for decades.  Is it so hard to believe he cheated on his wife for decades, too?

So maybe it is true—once a cheat, always a cheat.  Cheat with money, cheat on your spouse, cheat at golf.  If you’re capable of one, you’re probably capable of another.