Poli-ticks

Cronyism is in the DNA of officials

By Arlene Violet
Posted 10/28/18

Perhaps you had a chance to check out the most recent Hummel Report (disclosure: I am Chair of the Hummel Report Board) or read Jim Hummel’s October 13 lead article in the Providence Journal. …

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Poli-ticks

Cronyism is in the DNA of officials

Posted

Perhaps you had a chance to check out the most recent Hummel Report (disclosure: I am Chair of the Hummel Report Board) or read Jim Hummel’s October 13 lead article in the Providence Journal. It was about an ex-Rhode Island Senator who spent two years in federal prison and who on 8 occasions falsified his bank applications in order to secure six mortgages on residential properties in Johnston and North Providence, and an auto loan, totaling $1.7 million. Upon conviction he asked the court for a one-day sentence on the charges which carried a maximum of 30 years in jail and a $1 million fine. The federal Court Judge rejected his request and sentenced him to serve 27 months.

Enter District Court Chief Judge, Jeanne E. LaFazia. She made him a bail commissioner upon the completion of his sentence. The position is a quasi-judicial one, not advertised, and each bail commissioner’s fee is paid in cash by the defendant who appears in front of him, with no accounting of the money by the court. So, an ex-felon who, in effect, committed 8 crimes over many months gets to set bail requirements for other potential felons arrested by the police.
The judge sees nothing wrong with her actions. While refusing to speak to the press the court spokesman stated that she believed in second chances. In effect, she was hero-ized for not giving lip service to reentry programs and second chances for ex-felons.

It is easy to see why the judge has this attitude. She, herself, is a product of the crony system. She was appointed to the bench by then Governor Lincoln Almond who was the law partner of her father. Surrounding her are many magistrates with political connections, to wit, the ex-chief legal counsel to House Speaker Mattiello, a former House majority Whip, and the daughter of a high-ranked labor leader and sister of the Senate president’s chief of staff.
Throw in the appointment of the Senate majority leader’s brother-in-law, and the score of magistrates who were ex-legislators or cronies (the wife of ex-Speaker John Harwood, former Senator John McBurney, a top aide to then house Speaker William Murphy and the legal counsel to the then-House Speaker Gordon Fox and an ex-Senator from Portsmouth, etc.). Remember also that Governor Gina Raimondo’s deputy counsel has been appointed as a magistrate in family court.

Whether it’s the District Court or Traffic Court with 6 magistrates, the judicial system is awash with appointments of politically connected folks. It isn’t a leap to appoint an ex-felon as bail commissioner who other accused felons face and in whose hands is the decision to set the amount of bail. For far too many in the judicial system, lackey appointments are routine. To dress it up by patting oneself on the back for giving a person a second chance is quite cheeky. Just imagine if a bank rehired a bank teller who robbed the depositors and then try to explain to the customers that they were giving the thief a second chance because he knows how to count money.

Perhaps this latest chapter of crony blindness could leave to reform. Naw! The Lady of Justice holding the scales isn’t the only one wearing a blindfold.

Arlene Violet is an attorney and former Rhode Island Attorney General.

Arlene Violet

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