Corruption...... the wrong path.

On this week’s blog, I will talk
 about a topic that has permeated not only corporate America but also our Government, both local and national. Corruption has a way of not only weakening a government, economy but the entire country. Why is this topic even important? At first you would think that it does not really affect you, but unbeknownst to us it does. With all of the current corruption headlines in the news, one would think that our country is one of the worst offenders in the world. As an example of this, Malcolm Smith the former from New York Senate Leader was convicted of bribery and including Queens County Republican Party Vice Chairman Vincent Tabone in on his scheme. Tabone was also later convicted of accepting the bribes.

http://www.fbi.gov/newyork/press-releases/2015/former-state-senate-leader-malcolm-smith-and-queens-gop-leader-vincent-tabone-found-guilty-in-white-plains-federal-court-of-bribery-and-fraud-charges-connected-to-2013-nyc-mayors-race

Although I work in law enforcement, I find it sad and difficult to understand why fellow officers, in both law enforcement and corrections, find it necessary to bend, break and ignore the rules and laws in which we operate. What causes them to think that they will not get caught or conduct said behavior? In my opinion, these individuals believe they are above the law and whether their actions were due to financial difficulties, sheer stupidity or narcissistic tendencies they always get caught. As an example in Hawaii, a corrections officer was found guilty of being in league with the USO family prison gang to obtain and smuggle methamphetamine and other contraband in to the Halawa Correction Institute. As a result of his actions, he will spend 97 months in prison himself.

http://www.fbi.gov/honolulu/press-releases/2015/former-corrections-officer-receives-97-month-prison-sentence

There are also those that are in positions in which they work for the public in areas called public works. As a result of the position, it places them in control and in a location in which they will obtain information that could be financially beneficial to them or their family if they go outside the lines of the law. This is a everyday example that shows us that when individuals are in positions of power, they will try and bend the system to their needs which obviously leads to unethical and immoral behavior. In this next example of corruption, a Public Works general manager was funneling work to a construction company to work on apartments that his father owned with the caveat of getting a financial kickback for each contract they obtained.

http://www.fbi.gov/jackson/press-releases/2015/former-hattiesburg-public-works-general-manager-pleads-guilty-to-federal-kickback-scheme

It is a known fact that individuals in power are not allowed to gain financially by virtue of their position. When situations arise that would place those in power in these positions they are to report the incident and recuse themselves from the situation to keep themselves out of an unethical situation. As a result of the general manager’s unethical behavior, he was convicted of the kickback scheme and he could receive up to 5 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine on his sentencing date.

As if these types of professions were not enough to show that corruption is thriving, would you be shocked if a lawyer committed unethical actions? As sad as it is, I am not as I expect lawyers to be unethical. They are the ones that look for loopholes that allows their clients to get away with even more reprehensible behavior. I believe that this is one of our problems, lawyers, within the justice system that we have today. As yet another example of corruption in a profession, a lawyer was convicted of laundering drug money from one of his previous clients who just so happened to be a narcotics trafficker. Due to his actions, he will spend 30 months in prison and will have to pay a $25,000 fine.

http://www.fbi.gov/newhaven/press-releases/2015/attorney-sentenced-to-30-months-in-prison-for-laundering-drug-money

One aspect of this corruption that I do not understand is the fines that these guilty individuals pay. They steal more money than they are fined and yet the system does not get it back. I for one would seize all of their assets as this would send a message to those that are contemplating such behavior to think twice before committing to such actions.

As a country, one would think that we are one of the worst offenders in the world and I admittedly thought that we were. However, the truth actually surprised me. According to Transparency International and their Corruption Perception Index for 2014, the United States ranks as the 17^th best country in reference to corruption. This site ranks countries from 0 – 100, a score of 0 represents a totally corrupt country and conversely a score of 100 represents a corruption free country. Based on the sites research, the United States scored out at 74. This score is actually an improvement over the 2012 and 2013 years as the United States scored a 73. Once again, the current ranking of the United States was a shock as I never thought that we would have placed so high on the list.

http://www.transparency.org/cpi2014/results

I believe that the problem begins with individual moral failure which then lends itself into the business world. If one’s moral beliefs are lacking then they will continue their pattern of behavior until somebody stands up and says enough. However, as long as anybody can make a dollar off of their position then they will push the boundaries of ethical behavior as far as they can. To commit acts as these is a learned behavior and they are consistently being reinforced. I have heard many times that people are tired of getting beat up for doing the right thing and being penalized for it when it is much easier to go with the flow and not cause waves. In my opinion this is the wrong approach because it leads towards a dark path that will bring us all down as a society. There are many theories as to how to fix the corruption problem and many of them are good ideas but to truly hit them where it hurts, I firmly believe that all their assets need to be seized and that they will never have an opportunity to be placed in another position of power again.