PATRICEGATE
Ultimately, the award was sullied by a scandal, dubbed by the LA Times as "Particegate". Patrice Brotherson* , winner of the 2001 Stark, was dismissed after it was learned that she had embezzled tens of dollars from the company. The scandal ruined Patrice and led to a blanket dismissal of all the verifiers, cross-dressers, and a guy with a wig + and a hot plate. *Brotherson is a fictitious name, used for legal reasons.A Barry Tarp Connection?
Shortly after Patrice's termination, a valued and reliable employee by the name of Barry Tarp turned up dead in the Mojave desert, with a pickle protruding from his anus, that had the word "STARK" crudely carved on it. The timing of Patricegate and Barry's mysterious death led to much speculation...so much so, that LAPD detective Keith Ursus was compelled to go on the record stating, "There's a strong possibility, Mr Tarp was murdered by someone in Human Resources."