At the first staff meeting, I told employees I had trusted the wrong person and that their concerns had deserved more attention. I did not promise perfection. I promised that no employee should have to choose between doing the right thing and keeping a job.
Afterward, an older machinist approached me. He had worked for Walter since the company’s earliest days.
“Your dad used to walk the floor and ask us what was broken,” he said. “Not what was going well. What was broken.”
I smiled. “Then that’s where I’ll start.”
The next morning I visited the plant before sunrise. The machines were loud, the coffee was terrible, and for the first time in months I felt connected to something that belonged to the future.
- The Verdicts
The trials took time. Evidence was tested, witnesses were questioned, and experts disagreed about details before juries reached their decisions. Nolan was convicted in the case concerning Walter’s death and on major financial fraud charges. In Kentucky, a separate jury found him guilty of murdering Mara Quinn. He received substantial prison sentences, with the exact terms determined by the courts.
