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October 29, 2009
Where Even the Watchdogs Are Corrupt
WPRI's been promoting its newest Target 12 investigation as "The Biggest Yet"; reporter Tim White sends along some specifics in advance of the official revelation:
CRANSTON – The Rhode Island State Police have opened a criminal investigation following a Target 12 Investigation into government waste.The investigation, which airs tonight at 11 p.m., reveals four state workers at the Department of Labor and Training at home or on personal errands while on the clock. The investigation implicates the entire "Fraud Unit" at the DLT, a division designed to root out unemployment fraud and phony disability claims.
State police Lt. Colonel Steven O’Donnell says they were approached by state officials after Eyewitness News presented the DLT with their findings. O'Donnell says detectives are looking into possible charges of obtaining money under false pretense.
The four employees, identified by Eyewitness News as Debra Lombardi, Allyn Bosworth, David O'Brien and Claribel Terrero are suspended with pay pending the outcome of both the internal and criminal investigation, according to DLT spokesperson Laura Hart.
Their supervisor, Katherine Catanzaro has temporarily been reassigned, Hart says.
Target 12 obtained time sheets and itineraries of the fraud investigators that show they were not only on the clock when they were at home or on errands, but the itineraries reveal they claimed to be out on an investigation at the time.
On Sunday, I wondered whether it's possible to recycle something so thoroughly rotten as the Rhode Island government. When even the people assigned to seek out fraud are behaving fraudulently, the wondering may cease; tear the whole thing down and start again.
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"On Sunday, I wondered whether it's possible to recycle something so thoroughly rotten as the Rhode Island government. When even the people assigned to seek out fraud are behaving fraudulently, the wondering may cease; tear the whole thing down and start again."
You can't root out corruption from government, because corruption is simply a part of government itself. When you grant an organization like the government an artificial monopoly on certain services and the ability to fund itself through coercion in the form of taxes, it is not a question of whether it will become corrupt but how much and how quickly. The way the business world keeps a handle on corruption is through market forces: squander all of your money and you will go out of business, be replaced by one that does not have employees who waste and siphon for their own ends. When government engages in that kind of non-competitive behavior, however, it can simply write it off and raise taxes the following year. Nobody has a stake in what anyone else is doing for themselves, so nobody really cares.
A strong case against the republican form of government itself, but even its supporters should be able to agree that it makes a case for less government as opposed to more. And of course competition through multiple parties could alleviate the situation, as competition tends to improve all things by improving quality and lowering cost.
I do think that Rhode Island is so far gone that it cannot at this point be saved, and I suggest that you and everyone else here take a good look at New Hampshire and what is being done there through the Free State Project. Why choose to live in the heart of the monster when a real chance at liberty and rational self-government is a few hours away?
Posted by: Dan at October 29, 2009 8:05 PMI was collecting what i thought was partial unemployment benefits and found out they gave me the wrong information. Now i am paying back the money with interest even though i called and told them what i was making and where i woked and they said thing is evrything is fine. Unbelievable.
Posted by: bob madden at May 28, 2012 4:04 PMI was collecting what i thought was partial unemployment benefits and found out they gave me the wrong information. Now i am paying back the money with interest even though i called and told them what i was making and where i woked and they said thing is evrything is fine. Unbelievable.
Posted by: bob madden at May 28, 2012 4:05 PM