In a perfect world, those that work in sensitive government positions would always operate in a completely above board fashion with the best interests of those they are tasked with serving in mind.
We do not live in a perfect world, and voters across the nation are constantly slapped in the face with that reality. Especially from Democrats. The moment they take office, the power goes to their head and they truly believe that they are above the law.
Another example of that has emanated from the state of New York, as the chickens have come home to roost for yet another government employee that simply couldn’t say no once the money started flying around, thanks to a few backroom deals with lobbyists.
The Washington Times has the news.
A former top aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo was convicted on corruption charges Tuesday at a trial that further exposed the state capital’s culture of backroom deal-making.
A federal jury in Manhattan found Joseph Percoco guilty of two counts of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and one count of soliciting bribes after deliberating for parts of three weeks. He could face time in prison.
Jurors had informed the court twice that they were deadlocked in the case against Percoco and three businessmen accused of paying his family more than $300,000 in bribes, but U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni asked them to keep deliberating and on Tuesday said she would accept a partial verdict.
While Cuomo himself has not been implicated in any dirty dealings, it’s still a horrible look for his office.
That’s especially true when you consider the fact that Cuomo is consistently railing about how everyone else should think, feel, and act.
He’s going to have even more trouble convincing his constituents that he’s some kind of moral authority when he can’t even keep his own house in order.
Cuomo was not accused of wrongdoing, but the trial highlighted Albany as a place where deep-pocketed special interests use campaign donations to gain influence and flout rules meant to regulate lobbying.
Blair Horner, executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group, is pushing for even more to be done in the wake of the guilty verdict, calling it “a wake-up call to Albany to do something to clean up its ethics act.”
We’ll concur with that assessment wholeheartedly, and it’s safe to say that scores of the state’s residents are feeling the same way right about now.
As for Cuomo, he may want to tap the brakes on those long-rumored presidential ambitions. Those that can’t practice what they preach tend to implode quite quickly on the national stage.
Source: Washington Times
