Governors of Roman provinces were given freedom to rule them in their own manner so long as they did not mess things up too bad.  However, then, like now, there were those governors who pushed the self-destruct button.  One such governor of Sicily, Verres, is noted to have spoken openly of the three fortunes he needed to make; one to pay the debts he incurred in getting elected to the office, one to bribe the jurors in chase he was indicted, and another to live on for the rest of his life.

Hmmm….  Sound familiar?