Anti Corruption

The nation's most potent law against public corruption is in danger of being scaled back or struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. At issue is a ban on "honest services fraud," often used to prosecute public officials who accept money, free tickets, or jobs for relatives when bribery cannot be proved. Patrick M. Collins, formerly a top anti-corruption prosecutor for U.S. Atty. Patrick J. Fitzgerald in Chicago, said that in his region, "every major public corruption case in the last 10 years relied heavily on an 'honest services' charge."

Somewhere, Tony Soprano is having a good, long laugh. New Jersey is a state whose reputation for corruption has been immortalized in film, TV and in song by Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi alike. So there's just one question after learning that a new study puts New Jersey at the top of a State Integrity Investigation's ranking of the nation's states in terms of transparency and accountability to citizens. Who'd officials pay off? Actually, all bad jokes aside, New Jersey's long history of corruption has led to a litany of reforms in recent years.

A City Council committee Thursday debated a proposed anti-corruption policy that would require several hundred narcotics and anti-gang police officers to disclose personal financial information. The Public Safety Committee heard more than two hours of testimony from city, police and police union officials, as well as Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley. Siding with union leaders who oppose the plan, Cooley warned that if the policy is implemented, it could harm police work as officers have threatened to leave the drug and anti-gang units rather than agree to the disclosures.

The scene captured by a hidden FBI camera in Suite 604 of the Baranof Hotel in Juneau has become one of the most famous in a state well-versed since the gold rush days in what happens when money, ambition and alcohol intersect. Victor Kohring, then a state legislator, showed up for a meeting with Bill Allen and Rick Smith, then the president and vice president, respectively, of Veco Corp., a large oil services company. Kohring tells the executives a hard-luck story involving a $17,000 credit card bill.

The Mississippi Legislature today overwhelmingly approved a bill aimed at doing away with a century-old county purchasing system the FBI found was rife with corruption. The House passed the bill 111 to 7 and the Senate 50 to 0. It now goes to Gov. Ray Mabus, who had hailed the measure as "a tremendous victory against corruption and for effective government."

Seeking to smooth over a key point of contention in advance of President Hamid Karzai's inauguration this week, senior Afghan officials Monday unveiled what they described as tough new anti-corruption measures. With the Afghan leader poised to be sworn in Thursday for a second five-year term, the West has been putting pressure on Karzai to institute swift reforms or face a loss of international support. Recent days have seen criticism from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, both of whom suggested that future aid to Karzai's government could be tied to his efforts against corruption.

The scene captured by a hidden FBI camera in Suite 604 of the Baranof Hotel in Juneau has become one of the most famous in a state well-versed since the gold rush days in what happens when money, ambition and alcohol intersect. Victor Kohring, then a state legislator, showed up for a meeting with Bill Allen and Rick Smith, then the president and vice president, respectively, of Veco Corp., a large oil services company. Kohring tells the executives a hard-luck story involving a $17,000 credit card bill.

As they prepare to roll out a new Afghanistan policy to a skeptical U.S. audience, Obama administration officials are starting to replace their grim public assessments of the battered country with praise for the skills and idealism of its officials and its progress in important areas. The message is aimed in part, officials say, at trying to build domestic support for a troop increase that President Obama is expected to announce Tuesday. Obama's decision comes at a time when most Americans have turned against the mission, and some Democratic leaders in Congress have concluded that it is hopeless.

The remarkable public confrontation between the Gandhi-like ascetic Anna Hazare and the government of India — which came to a triumphant end last month with a glass of orange juice and a government promise to create a strong, independent anti-corruption agency — is the latest manifestation of a worldwide explosion of outrage at what historians may someday come to deem humanity's latest form of tyranny: the capture of states by criminal syndicates....

India's ruling Congress party, facing one of its biggest political crises in years, spent much of Wednesday negotiating with Anna Hazare, a popular anti-corruption activist who refused to leave his jail cell until he reached a deal early Thursday. The negotiators' task wasn't helped by tens of thousands of his supporters, who gathered in cities and towns across India, chanting, banging pots, waving flags and holding candlelight vigils in support of the septuagenarian devotee of Mohandas Gandhi.

The remarkable public confrontation between the Gandhi-like ascetic Anna Hazare and the government of India — which came to a triumphant end last month with a glass of orange juice and a government promise to create a strong, independent anti-corruption agency — is the latest manifestation of a worldwide explosion of outrage at what historians may someday come to deem humanity's latest form of tyranny: the capture of states by criminal syndicates....

An anti-corruption activist who sparked a major political crisis in India agreed Saturday to end a 12-day hunger strike after officials acceded to his demands for tackling graft. Septuagenarian Anna Hazare thanked tens of thousands of supporters at the protest site, even as he cautioned that the struggle was far from over. "I feel this is the country's victory," he told the cheering crowd, adding that "we have won only half the battle. " He was flanked by key aides in front of an oversized image of his idol, Mohandas Gandhi.

A septuagenarian anti-corruption activist ended his 13-day hunger strike Sunday with a glass of coconut water to the cheers of supporters and the relief of a government that's found itself on the defensive for the last fortnight. Anna Hazare agreed to end the fast after parliament bowed to his demands, agreeing to create a powerful, independent lokpal, or ombudsman, with authority to go after high-level corruption. Whether or not the new agency has teeth or ultimately does much to stem endemic corruption remains to be seen.

A popular anti-corruption activist who was arrested this week and refused to leave his prison cell until India's government met his terms for a hunger strike left prison Friday morning to a triumphant welcome from thousands of supporters, some of whom have camped out for three days. "Victory to mother India," said septuagenarian activist Anna Hazare, waving an Indian flag. "The fight is far from over, it has just begun. " The end of the unusual standoff occurred when government officials granted him the right to continue his protest for up to two weeks at a large venue, rather than three days at a smaller field they'd originally insisted on. His fast began in jail.

India's ruling Congress party, facing one of its biggest political crises in years, spent much of Wednesday negotiating with Anna Hazare, a popular anti-corruption activist who refused to leave his jail cell until he reached a deal early Thursday. The negotiators' task wasn't helped by tens of thousands of his supporters, who gathered in cities and towns across India, chanting, banging pots, waving flags and holding candlelight vigils in support of the septuagenarian devotee of Mohandas Gandhi.

An Indian government attempt to head off a political crisis by arresting a key anti-corruption activist appeared to backfire Tuesday when Parliament walked out and demonstrations erupted around the country. Plainclothes police surrounded activist Anna Hazare early Tuesday morning as the septuagenarian left his home to begin a hunger strike in protest of alleged widespread corruption, reportedly forbidding him to leave the premises. When he defied them, officers took him into custody on preemptory charges of "breach of peace.

A former Air Force sergeant from Arizona has pleaded guilty to bribery and extortion conspiracy related to his role in the largest border corruption case in recent years, according to federal authorities. Rommel I. Schroer was the last of 57 defendants to plead guilty in the wide-ranging sting operation that targeted U.S. law enforcement officers and military personnel in southern Arizona. The defendants -- many of them police officers or members of the Army or Arizona National Guard -- believed they were teaming with drug traffickers but were actually working for a fake drug cartel created by a federal anti-corruption task force, according to court documents.

An anti-corruption activist who sparked a major political crisis in India agreed Saturday to end a 12-day hunger strike after officials acceded to his demands for tackling graft. Septuagenarian Anna Hazare thanked tens of thousands of supporters at the protest site, even as he cautioned that the struggle was far from over. "I feel this is the country's victory," he told the cheering crowd, adding that "we have won only half the battle. " He was flanked by key aides in front of an oversized image of his idol, Mohandas Gandhi.

An Indian government attempt to head off a political crisis by arresting a key anti-corruption activist appeared to backfire Tuesday when parliament walked out and demonstrations broke out across the country. Approximately 20 plainclothes police surrounded activist Anna Hazare, 73, early Tuesday morning as he left his house to begin a hunger strike against alleged widespread corruption, reportedly forbidding him from leaving the premises. When he defied them, they took him into custody on peremptory charges of "breach of peace.