Mark Steyn raises the peculiarity of the mysterious deaths of two businessmen who actually managed to beat the U.S. Department of Justice’s process-is-the-punishment racket.  Apparently, the statistics suggest that the DOJ way overcharges its targets in the hopes of pushing for a settlement:  “95 percent of cases are won by prosecutors, 90 percent of those without trial.”

Despite the odds, Mike Lynch and Stephen Chamberlain won their case, but now both are dead under mysterious circumstances.  Lynch’s yacht fell victim to a fluke boating calamity, and Chamberlain was hit by a car while on his daily run.

The latter is what brings to mind a bit of forgotten Rhode Island mafia history.  Shortly after his paper published information about a secret mafia ceremony, publisher Michael Metcalf died by falling off his bicycle.  Sure, authorities concluded it was simply an accident, but Projo chairman and publisher, at the time, Stephen Hamblett expressed some skepticism: “we cannot forget that Mr. Metcalf was publisher of newspapers known for their investigative stories and editorials on crime. This fact, coupled with the unique circumstances surrounding his death, make it impossible for us to rule out foul play.”

I’ve often noted that the popular Crimetown podcast had a notable shift in its first season, starting with mafia corruption and moving into government corruption. It has seemed to me that perhaps that captures a trend that actually happened in the Ocean State. If the United States government is following the same trend, we should all be worried, indeed.