Complaints/ Investigations/Hearings

<b>City Attorney Ethics Enforcement in San Francisco</b><br>
<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Ex-SF-Supervisor-Yaki-heads-off-s…; target="”_blank”">An
article in the San Francisco <i>Chronicle</i> this week</a> says that the
city attorney filed a lawsuit against a former member of the board
of supervisors (the city's legislative body) who acted as a

What role does humor play in a government ethics program? It looks like this
is the principal issue in a Broome County, NY ethics case. According
to <a href="http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20140205/NEWS01/302050028/Preston-…; target="”_blank”">an article put up yesterday afternoon on the Gannett Pressconnects website</a>, the chair of the opposing party's

A passing statement in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/nyregion/making-claim-towns-mayor-gai…; target="”_blank”">yesterday's
New York <i>Times</i> article</a> on the continuously unfolding story of
NJ governor Chris Christie's bullying led me to wonder why it is
that indictments based on sting operations focus only on the
government officials who give in to the sting's temptations. Not

Settlements of ethics proceedings are usually a good thing for
everyone involved. They save officials
the cost of a proceeding and prevent officials from digging
themselves deeper and deeper into defenses, denials, and cover-ups,
which are usually more harmful to the public trust than any ethics violation. They save taxpayers the cost of a proceeding and
of possible appeals. They save the community the pain of going through
an extended fight over an ethics violation, which can hurt its reputation, escalate, and

When the criminal justice system finds that government officials are
involved in a conspiracy to pursue illegal conduct in an
environment of fear and intimidation, they bring racketeering
charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations
Act (RICO). This is what happened with the Atlanta schools cheating
scandal. According to <a>an
article in today's New York <i>Times</i></a>, six more educators pleaded
guilty to being part of the conspiracy, bringing the total to 17.

<b>The Boss of the Ethics Director's Bosses</b><br>
According to <a href="http://www.free-times.com/news/123013-government-watchdog-sues-state-et…; target="”_blank”">an

In New York State, lawyers are once again insisting that they are an
exception to ethics laws. The Moreland Commission, a special
investigatory commission called by the governor and consisting of
district attorneys and other law enforcement officials, has
subpoenaed the employers of several state legislators. According to
<a href="http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20131122/NEWS01/311220039&q…; target="”_blank”">an

<a href="http://articles.courant.com/2013-11-15/news/hc-ed-hartford-treasurer-et…; target="”_blank”">A
Hartford <i>Courant</i> editorial on Friday</a> asked a question that is
not asked enough, Why delay an ethics investigation until a criminal
investigation is complete? Another such question that is not asked

This blog has been closely following cases where the legislative
immunity defense has been used in government ethics proceedings.
This week, the same issue arose with respect to an open records
proceeding in Wisconsin. According to <a href="http://www.isthmus.com/daily/article.php?article=40931&quot; target="”_blank”">an
article posted on the Madison <i>Isthmus</i> site yesterday</a>,

This is the third blog post on the West Palm Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) matter. This post considers the matter in the context of a wide range of problems affecting CRAs throughout southern Forida, which can be seen in reports in the area's newspapers and blogs. Several CRAs have
also been investigated by various offices and commissions.<br>
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