The Julie Roehm scandal at Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) is getting petty to the point of being goofy. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reports that CEO Lee Scott recently purchased a diamond ring from the Aaron Group, a wholesale supplier of jewelry to Wal-Mart. The company didn't disclose the details of the purchase, but did say that Scott hadn't received any preferential pricing. A Wal-Mart spokesperson jumped to Scott's defense, saying that he is "subject to the same ethics policy as any other associate and has not violated either the spirit or the letter of Wal-Mart's ethical standards."

The Bentonville retailer has a very strict ethics policy prohibiting its employees from receiving anything free from suppliers. The only thing interesting about this is that the Aaron Group is a maker of "popular priced jewelry" so it would seem like an unusual place for Scott to buy jewelry. But who knows.

The bad news for Wal-Mart is that this is just more bad publicity, however inane it is. I'm sure that they're regretting not settling Roehm's lawsuit a long time ago.