Would You Rather…

Pretend you work at a mid-size advertising agency.

Would you rather …

1. Be arrested for minor embezzlement and get fired?

2. Be arrested for prostitution (or, more likely, solicitation thereof) and get fired?

Keep in mind that solicitation and embezzlement of under $1,000 are both class A misdemeanors in New York, with prison time of up to a year possible but unlikely. Embezzlement over $1,000 becomes a felony. Between $1,000 and $50,000, it’s an E felony; above $50,000, it’s a D felony. Either way, a judge can you give up to 4 years in prison for an E felony and up to 7 years for a D.

Prostitution, meanwhile, is only a felony when it’s a madam/pimp situation, at which point it becomes more of a racketeering charge, or a D felony.

(These terms are according to Anthony J. Colleluori, a New York defense attorney; thanks for the help, counselor.)

Anyway: which would you prefer, and why? A free piece of Freakonomics schwag goes to one commenter chosen randomly (or who writes the most entertaining reply) within the first 48 hours of this posting.