Spanish Civil Servant Skipped Work for Six Years Without Getting Caught (And Still Got Paid)

In one of the most peculiar cases of bureaucracy gone wrong, Joaquin Garcia, 69, a Spanish civil servant working at a waste treatment facility, skipped work for six years without ever getting caught. Better yet, he still got paid. How he got caught is even better.

Government jobs are notorious for the bureaucracy involved in getting anything done, as well as the wasted resources that go into such jobs. However, Joaquin Garcia managed to pull of a stunt many of us would love to be able to do, skip work and get paid.

Garcia oversaw construction work at a waste treatment facility near Cadiz, Spain. According to the BBC, "Mr Garcia says he was bullied due to his family's politics, and was sent to the water company to be out of the way. He found there was no work to do there." So instead of finding work to do, Garcia decided instead to become an expert on the philosopher Spinoza.

So how was he finally discovered?

Evidently, "officials only learned of his long delinquency when they wanted to commemorate his 20 years of employment, only to realize he wasn't exactly an active employee." One would think that if Garcia was skipping work, he would at least be sure to show up to major events so awkward situations like this wouldn't come up.

But he was eventually caught, and was fined what is the equivalence of $30,000, or what for Garcia was one year's salary after tax. But there's still a slight chance he might get out of it, as Garcia "has written to the mayor asking not to have to pay the fine, and will ask for a review of the judgement.

So what do you think of this story? Ever hear of something like this before? Tell us your thoughts or stories in the comments section below!