It wasn't me.

Playboy is celebrating its 50th year of publication with all the great fan fare one would expect from such a venerable institution. Improving on much admired themes like Women of the Big 12, they have embarked on an effort to solicit the poses of the Women of Wal-mart. The question then becomes: Are they legal?

There is little doubt that Playboy will dutifully check the ages of the women of Wal-mart who offer themselves up for their 15 minutes of fame. But has Wal-mart checked their legal status? Do they care?

It doesn’t really appear they do. As the investigation continues into Wal-mart’s involvement, or at least condoning, of the hiring of illegal immigrants (mostly) by contractors to clean nearly a third of their stores in North America, the corporate legal geniuses have come up with a nearly impenetrable defense: We didn’t know.

This suggests two things immediately. First, that the world’s largest retailer by sales is run by a group of ignoramuses, or second, that the legal team and top brass have concluded this constitutes a solid legal position, which exonerates them of responsibility or duty.

While recent developments in a number of global companies have shown that ignoramuses do rise to the top, it is hard to fathom that they could all stumble their way to the top of the same company. Somewhere along the line somebody has to be doing something right and have intended it.

Simply saying “We didn’t know” also seems improbable as an adequate defense. Yet, that is exactly what they are saying. The historical record of this defense, and indeed its daily use, does not bode well for the Wal-mart defense team. In addition to its poor record as a way of proving innocence, or at least disproving guilt, there is little chance they will ever find 12 people who believe it. Unless they get the same jury from the Durst trial (http://edition.cnn.com/2003/LAW/11/11/fugitive.heir.ap/index.html). The idea that Wal-mart executives didn’t know that their dirt-cheap cleaners were using illegal labor is incomprehensible. On previous occasions Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) has raided Wal-mart stores and found their contractors to be using illegal labor. Yet, they didn’t see it coming this time, either?

Much vaunted in business schools as a model of how to operate, Wal-mart has again shown its faults. It is long past due that the retailer look just over the bottom line and take on its responsibilities to all of its stakeholders, and not just those with a stock price to watch.