In Bentonville, Wal-Mart bribery scandal not causing too much concern

Apple has Cupertino. Kodak had Rochester. And Walmart, of course, has Bentonville.

The allegations of bribery lodged against the retail giant has the company on the defensive, but what about the company town? Terri Niccum, one of the managers of Fred’s Hickory Inn in Bentonville, Ark., said the scandal had prompted discussion, but it’s not the main topic of conversation.

“Wal-Mart has a lot of integrity and we believe it will come out what happened. And there’s probably a lot more to the story,” Niccum said. “We have a lot of Wal-Mart people, but it’s more like a community.”

A report from The New York Times on Saturday detailed a history of top Wal-Mart officials at the company’s Mexican subsidiary paying millions in bribes in order to get permits for new stores expedited, to clear zoning objections and, generaly, to grow fast enough to become a dominant retaielr in the country.

Other than domestically, there are more Wal-Marts in Mexico than any other country. Under federal law, however, U.S. companies and individuals are prohibited from paying bribes to foreign officials. The Times article alleged the company not only paid bribes in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, but actually moved to cover up its own internal investigation that found evidence of the practice.

The allegations, Niccum said, have been a surprise. But people in Bentonville understand that Wal-Mart is a frequent target of critics — and this is just another example.

“There’s probably some nervous people, but it’s not the whole community that’s nervous about it,” she said.

The whole investigating is concerning, Niccum said, but she believes Wal-Mart will come out on top.