In The Solomon Scandals, my Washington newspaper novel, hundreds of IRS and CIA bureaucrats die in the collapse of a rickety high-rise. Bribery involved? Of course.

So how much Real Life is there in this scenario? Just type building collapse corruption into Google and see such headlines as:

Corrupt work cited in Egypt building collapse – Mideast/N. Africa
Dec 29, 2007 … Shoddy materials, illegal construction and a culture of corruption were blamed Saturday for the deaths of more than three dozen people.

EasttSouthWestNorth: Why Did the School Building Collapse
Jun 2, 2008 … Many people like to demand to “kill the corrupt officials” ….. In a brittle collapse, a building can crumble to dust in a few seconds.

EurasiaNet Civil Society – Azerbaijan: Building Collapse Exposes …
Sep 6, 2007 … debate in Azerbaijan about government corruption and competence.

About the photo: It is a picture of the Skyline Plaza collapse in Northern Virginia. I’ll not make accusations of bribery in connection with Skyline. But, yes, the U.S. has had its share of corruption-related collapses. Meanwhile keep in mind the relationship between corruption and building collapses in China. Honest politicians are best for earthquake-prone areas.