Bill Rankin of the AJC brings the news that the Atlanta region has seen a spike in prosecutions and convictions for public corruption:
An analysis of federal crime statistics by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows the number of public corruption convictions here has spiked in recent years. The federal judicial district that includes metro Atlanta now ranks among the top districts in the country in corruption convictions, the newspaper found.
Law enforcement officials say an increased emphasis on nabbing corrupt officials — not necessarily an increase in corruption — accounts for the rise in convictions.
But federal prosecutors say the consequences of corruption — including wasted tax dollars and broken public trust — are real.
So, a question to ponder: Is the increase in prosecutions evidence of a good thing or a bad thing?
Note first that these stats are for federal prosecutions. Yet those who are prosecuted range from local government officials to federal employees.
We’re well aware of the problems Georgia has with its own ethics in government. A large part of this problem is that many of these acts committed that appear unethical are in fact legal under state law, and even those that are not do not have a clearly defined process in place that allows for a path to prosecution.
Federal law is a bit more clear, and the process is at a bit more removed from political interference, though not necessarily immune. Georgia appears to have a corruption problem and the feds are prosecuting when they can.
Georgia has an “ethics” problem but until laws are changed there is little re-course to prosecution, as many of the acts aren’t illegal.
I would posit that we would be more ethical and less corrupt if there were even more prosecutions.
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Good story this morning. I think the cases detailed in the story are only small fish compared to what the FBI and Sally Yates have coming i.e. Chip Rogers
Care to elaborate?
Convictions: Our chamber pot got so full it ran over.
6 of 93 districts, #1 priority, increased emphasis, weak laws, diversity, tax evaders and self-servers making law…it’s just a cultural thing.
Off with their heads! If we didn’t have so many crooked pols, there couldn’t be as many prosecutions. But that not being the case, and knowing that the foxes are in the hen house of writing GA law, just keep ramping up the number of prosecutions.
No mention of judges being forced into retirement for a variety of illegal, unethical, downright salacious activity. That story continues to fly well under the radar.
Just read about another judge in Camden County being investigated.
Calypso,
Re your avatar – below expanded
http://m.youtube.com/?reload=3&rdm=mc3dk81yw#/watch?feature=fvwrel&v=CSgG9kq9joI
salty, does this mean my avatar exposes me to something I don’t want to be exposed to? I’m not sure what this means.
videos of the ship but now you have changed your pic to some white guy in a suit with gangrene ears, holding up a d…..can’t say it here, but is it battery powered ?
Well the pic is hard to see on an iphone……exposure you don’t need……
oh !!!!…..head phones !
It is my temporary homage to Ed. He was bustin’ my chops in another thread about me getting an avatar making it easier for him to know which posts to skip.
Time for every man and every woman to express their “Breitbart” and turn it over to the press and Salley Quinn Yates. Show courage, honor a VET, put the cameras on corruption!
Save Georgia from the politcal criminal crime syndicates called the GOP!
I cannot tell if you are serious or facetious. It doesn’t work. The corruption, deception and media control are much more ironclad than you know.
Some folks over in east central Georgia tried and this is what we ran into. “Yes, we know that what you uncovered is shocking, but can you prove criminal intent? It ‘might be’ incompetence……”
Stories involving questioned loss of $20,000 cash by a tax commissioner get 12 daily newspaper articles. Some 9 print stories on another $20,000 misuse of funds to pay medical bills of a county employee by a county commissioner got 9 stories. Tales of an “ineptitude-plagued” convention center deal with publicized promises of $millions in gifts to the public that turned into a perpetual $3 to $4 million annual subsidy for a certain oligarchical newspaper publisher and family got nothing, nada, rien de tout in the same newspapers. (ps – the millions in gifts never got conveyed)
Whether by intent, one sided “incompetence” or well-contrived plan using political and media control the result is the same – the death of Georgia and of America, too.
Beyond that case of “incompetence”, Georgia was #1 in Mortgage Fraud for 4 out of 5 years running. Our government has been cited as the most corrupt in the USA. We are #1 in bank failures, yet the Georgia Bankers Assn still controls the legislature.
If you have investigative ability and team up with folks with complimentary skills, you can get into online banking financial data, property transfers, do title searches using GSCCA, and use open record requests to identify trends and patterns ……..voila you just took the red pill like in the matrix. All of a sudden, the “successful” don’t look admirable – they are seen for what they are, manipulators now more desperate than ever to become parasites at the public trough. They are not siphoning food-stamp level sums off, either.
When you see for yourself how widespread the looting and public rent-seeking has become, you have to fear for us all. You read it here. If a city stinks, can it be detected without some noses?
Recall Deal, arrest his cronies.
Primary him and see what happens.
I think he lost enough support to lose in his home town and hot lanes in Gwinnett, ga 400 toll, immigration, no diversity in appointing anyone except all white men, etc,
He failed to keep his campaign promises.
Understand my history here when I say this: Anyone that thinks Deal is ripe for a primary challenge is either dreaming or delusional.
No one said he is “ripe for” one. The legislators seem to love him. He has the backing of the Chamber types.
Substitute “deserving of” and there are a lot of folks who would agree with that.
If there is a challenge it won’t be a conventional one and whoever tries it will be fighting more than just an incumbent governor.
Georgia is STILL just as corrupt as it has always been!
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyEzVtF_xY2Qv6cdbgxIBsfDKvT699cSy
I have been fighting both GA DCA and its insurer GA DOAS for personal injury GA DCA employees caused to my family, PLUS not to mention the discrimination we had to endure at the hands of GA DCA employees in the now closed Carrollton rental assistance office. Those employees have since quit or are transferred and demoted to different locations BUT that still does not solve anything we are still injured!!!
DCA is a can of worms from a lot of directions.
Georgia is the Red State version of Illinois. A former colleague of mine supporting bank remediation/litigation in Chicago and I laugh about it. Georgia is off-the-charts and there are certain areas in Georgia that are utterly corrupt in ways, if publicized, would shock their citizens.
Sometimes the best way is just to make people aware, describe the corruption tactics and send it out thru emails and news sources that would print it.
Once we know how they operate would be a big help and you don’t have to name names.
If your honest and naive its hard to think how people who are corrupt do it.
“Georgia corruption works when…………………………..”
“watch for corrupt moves by media”’
Then we could all boycot those companies who advertise
I think that is where we are heading as a people. Consequences must be brought to bear before there is total dissolution of society.
I found this on Tom Crawford’s site back in December.
http://gareport.com/blog/2012/12/17/maybe-this-would-restore-trust-in-government/
“A proposed constitutional amendment . . . would authorize the attorney general to ask the Georgia Supreme Court to empanel” a special grand jury “to investigate allegations of corruption by elected officials.”
Anyone know if the proposed CA is alive at all?
It has been introduced several times, most recently (before this session) by Austin Scott.
I believe Josh McKoon reintroduced for this session, but not 100% sure of that.
Thanks, Charlie.
We all know that our one party state will not hold itself accountable.
The only chance we have are
1. Federal investigations on massive scale for state corruption
2. Democrats go after corruption as a way to win back the state
3. People demand better and vote more in elections
It was pretty amazing that Obama and the Dems didn’t use their power and control to seize one of the many opportunities to make headlines in Georgia. It made total sense. Lots of the black folk in politics are scratching their heads, too. I chalk it up to there not being a dime’s worth of difference in the parties when it comes to financial crimes and corruption.
If they went after our guys they’d also have to go after Corzine.
Voters understand polarization and vote for those that will deliver the goodies to their side. Conviction means loyalty until convicted. It just takes more hard work and money for our side to win.
The craziest line today:
“Keep in mind who won….”
The presidential election or the House or whatever.
Reminds me of the business world being informed who was in charge or majority owner or highest rank. When the effort to clarify that is said they mean precisely
I’ll play nice putting you on the committee/opinion list but the outcome will be my way , final answer.
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