Commenting on my post titled Will History Repeat?, readers Will Penny and Wallypog both asked essentially the same question:  Why haven’t our local law enforcement agencies shown more interest?  The answer will not be satisfying or reassuring.

You asked why the city, county, and state authorities aren’t more engaged.  Given the political coziness that exists between public officials and law enforcement commanders in the state, the county, and the city, it would be unreasonable to expect objective public corruption investigations from our state, county, and local law enforcement agencies.

If you were to ask them, our local, county, and state police would likely tell you with some justification that they are not staffed or funded to conduct long-term public integrity investigations which sometimes lead to charges but often to no charges at all.  Never mind that some of the people whom they could end up investigating contribute heavily to political campaigns and exert considerable economic and political influence over their bosses and their departmental budgets. These investigations are often costly and time-consuming, sometimes taking years to conclude.  The lack of political will or professional resources in local, county, and state law enforcement agencies are reasons why major public corruption investigations are often conducted and prosecuted by the federal government.

Here are some recent public corruption cases of interest from the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Note that the people prosecuted included a city treasurer and mayor’s assistant, the administrator of a county worker’s compensation fund, a former county sheriff, a former police officer, a former state film commission director, a former state senator, a county commissioner, a school board member, a former city commissioner, a foreign attorney, and two businessmen.  Quite a diverse group of defendants.

The first step in what can be a long journey is having sufficient verifiable information to stimulate ongoing  public  interest. Historically the newspapers have played a very significant role in developing and disseminating that information.  Despite the decline in the quality and depth of newspaper reporting, some newspapers are still taking their professional responsibilities seriously.  Here is an example of what newspapers could still do — if they wanted to.

The elements of that news story were both frightening and fascinating.  Reread the lede:

When a private attorney asked the school board of a small district on Long Island, New York, to put him on the payroll so he could get a pension and benefits, board members approved it without giving it a second thought. He assured them it was perfectly legal and that other people were doing it. “It wasn’t a big deal,” recalled former board member Lorraine Deller.

But that could never happen here.  Not in Coeur d’Alene.  Not in Kootenai County.  Not in Idaho.

Yes, it could.  The prescription for official corruption is formulated

• When public officials blindly and unquestioningly follow advice from “professionals” such as attorneys and accountants, or
• When the public blindly and unquestioningly trusts its public officials or
• When the public is afraid to ask questions of their officials, or
• When the public is naive enough to believe that none of its officials would ever be dishonest, and
• When the news media become part of the problem by ignoring the stories unfolding in front of them.

So Will and Wally, there’s your answer.  As Dr. Laura says in closing her radio program, “Now go do the right thing.”