Yet Another Problem with the Criminal Enforcement of Government Ethics
In <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/09/05/1327323/-Why-this-former-Speci…; target="”_blank”">a
an op-ed in the <i>Daily Kos</i></a> last Friday, Janos Marton — special counsel to New York state's recent Moreland
Commission on state-level corruption — makes an excellent point about one of the problems involved in the criminal enforcement of government ethics :<blockquote>
The Executive Order under which the Commission operated directed us
to investigate corrupt activity that was permissible under the New
York's weak campaign finance and lobbying laws, not necessarily
uncover crimes. ... While U.S. Attorney Bharara is in
possession of the Commission's files, he is unlikely to pursue
non-criminal investigations, which comprised much of our work.
The Department of Justice, New York Attorney General and
various District Attorneys will keep pursuing outright crimes such
as bribery, but legislators convicted of such offenses are often
small fish, while significant players savvily operate at the outer
edges of legal corruption. This includes state legislative
leaders and other power brokers, such as prominent lobbyists, who
thrive under "politics as usual." As we noted in the Commission's
Preliminary Report, issued in December 2013 (a second report was
never published), "the real scandal is what remains legal." ...<br>
<br>
Further feeding Albany's corruption is that most who operate in this
system don't find it problematic or care. Few legislators
defended our work.</blockquote>
Marton goes on to provide some examples of what he means by legal
activity he, and the public, find unacceptable:<blockquote>
For example, to most lay people, contributing hundreds of thousands
of dollars to a candidate through various loopholes and accounts in
exchange for favorable legislation or lack of regulation ... is tantamount to bribery. This is how the
real estate, telecommunications and gaming industries have operated
for years. Legislative leaders rake in huge legal fees for
unspecified work. Large corporations bankroll dozens of
bi-partisan lobbying firms. Anonymous political spending by
both parties continues to grow.</blockquote>
Unfortunately, in its preliminary (and, unfortunately, its final) report, the prosecutor-heavy Moreland Commission's
recommendations were too criminally oriented, a criticism I made in <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/nys-moreland-commission-recommendatio…; target="”_blank”">a
blog post</a> last December.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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