LETTERS

TO THE EDITOR

Corruption

To the editor:

Corruption affects us all. Many of us look at our country these days and shake our heads.

Corruption is the making of decisions — not by what’s the right thing to do, but by someone who has influenced a decision maker with money, manipulation, coercion, or fear. Bad decisions are made that affect the lives of everyday citizens.

I’m not a lawyer. I wish a lawyer or judge would tackle this issue and do some teaching on this. But none have stepped forward, so I will give this my best uneducated shot.

• BRIBERY. You give money to an official to try to influence him or her to act a certain way.
• BLACKMAIL. Suppose an enemy of a politician catches the politician in a “compromising position” with moral or embarrassing failures. The blackmailer can hold it over the politician and make him do whatever he wants.
• EXTORTION. This is blackmail backwards. This is the forcing of an act, with the threat of violence or bad things if the act is not accomplished.
• EMBEZZLEMENT. Stealing or misappropriating funds by an entrusted individual or a group of individuals misusing the funds or assets under their care for their personal gain. Includes “grifting” or making money off of your position.
• MONEY LAUNDERING. Laundering money involves concealing its illegal origin and converting it in a manner that makes its origin appear legitimate.
• FRAUD. The intentional deception of someone to gain something of value.
• EMOLUMENTS / SELF-DEALING. The U.S. Constitution prohibits federal officials from accepting gifts, payments, or titles from foreign states without the consent of Congress. This aims to prevent corruption and foreign influence on American officials.
• CONFLICT OF INTEREST. A person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another.
• FAVORITISM. Granting preferential benefits to family members, friends, or associates despite lacking relevant qualifications or availability of more qualified individuals.
• KICKBACKS. If in order to secure an undue favor, service or business contract you get illegal payments or rewards, such as regular payoffs, you are using kickbacks, a type of bribery.

Federal, state, and local officials can be subject to corruption in large and small ways — a favor here, looking the other way there.

It doesn’t always have to involve money. It could involve influence, intimidation, manipulation, coercion or fear.

It’s all corruption if it changes how an official would otherwise act honestly. Corrupt people will give death threats to judges, court reporters, and jury members, or publish their home addresses for others to harass them.

Americans have watched corruption creep into our awareness and just shake our heads. It will take some education on why it is wrong and who it hurts before we realize why it is illegal and unethical.

We must recognize corruption when we see it. Do you see anything like this today?

Brian Stucky
Goessel