Originally published January 6 2006
San Diego suffers from corrupt government officials and scandals
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
For the San Diego Tribune, Ruben Navarrette Jr. covers the Pension scandal, which involves the corruption of the Pension board, as well as the latest scandal involving bribes given by defense contractors to Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Del Mar.
The U.S. attorney's office, the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission have separate and continuing investigations into the city's pension scandal, which resulted in a nearly $2 billion deficit in the municipal employees' pension fund.
Six former members of the pension board have been charged with corruption and are being prosecuted by the district attorney's office.
Two former San Diego city councilmen were convicted of corruption charges; one had his conviction set aside by a judge but may be retried, the other was sentenced to 21 months in prison.
Now there's former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Del Mar (San Diego County), who through his misdeeds has earned his own wing in the Corrupt Politicians Hall of Fame.
For his sins, the 63-year-old Republican is looking at a possible 10 years in prison.
The folks who keep the historical record for Congress say that, since the formation of the republic, nearly 10,000 individuals have served and fewer than a dozen have been convicted of taking bribes.
Those flaws go beyond the obvious, such as the corruptive influence of the rivers of money that flow through Washington, or the startling fact that one member of Congress, sitting on the right committee with the right amount of influence with the right government agency, can steer millions of dollars of taxpayers' money into the coffers of private firms -- firms that might reciprocate by showering a politician with favors such as expensive meals and gifts, resort vacations, unlimited use of a corporate jet or yacht, and so forth.
There is no excusing Cunningham, but Americans should be just as outraged over those members of Congress who are willing to take up whatever cause is dictated to them by those who contribute to their campaigns: teachers' unions who give money to Democrats to fend off vouchers; the medical and pharmaceutical lobbies that give to Republicans to push tort reform or fight off attempts to provide low-cost prescription drugs.
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