CaltechNerd Loc: Whittier, CA, USA

In Germany, the CEO is held responsible for decisions his staff make. Of course, if he can prove the illegal actions were done secretly and against policy and orders, then I assume he can avoid jail. But it's the CEO who's responsible for the actions of the corporation. The Volkswagen CEO didn't say "cheat" but he did demand an impossible low level of pollutants. Just as the NASA officials that pressured Morton Thiokol officials didn't set out to kill astronauts, they just set an impossible goal. Launch during Reagan's State of the Union speech despite it being the coldest weather of any launch and O-ring charring was directly proportional to how cold it was at launch.