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A New Book on the Worst Recent Ethics Scandal
Monday, April 1st, 2013
Robert Wechsler
I don't get it. Such a big deal has been made out of the Bell, CA
officials paying themselves big bucks. This was considered the big
local government ethics story of the last few years. The Los Angeles
Times won a Pulitizer Prize for uncovering it.
Yes, what happened in Bell was appalling. But what happened in Luzerne County, PA was far, far worse. And yet, for example, the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics has two blog posts about Bell, and none about Luzerne County.
The reason I raise this issue is that I feel that government ethics puts too much emphasis on money and the misconduct of bad apples. Although money was involved in Luzerne County, in fact a lot more than in Bell, what makes the scandal so horrible is that (1) it led to hundreds of young people being imprisoned in juvenile detention centers who had done nothing and who had been given almost no chance to defend themselves (this is why it's known as the Kids for Cash scandal); and (2) a large number of professionals inside and outside of the court system knew something serious was wrong, and yet only a handful of them tried to do anything to bring notice to what was happening and bring it to a stop.
What happened in Luzerne County would have been horrible even if no money had been involved. Injustice was done to children, and the justice system and all those involved in it, not just the two judges who went to prison, failed to protect them.
The lesson to be learned from this scandal is also more important. Everyone in government, and even those who come into contact with government and whose livelihood depend on government, have an obligation to report misconduct. When they fail to do so, very bad things happen.
The reason I raise this issue now is that I just learned about a new book about the scandal, called Kids for Cash, by William Ecenbarger. The book was reviewed (five months late) in the New York Times Book Review yesterday, and does not appear to have been widely reviewed.
What happened in Luzerne County should (1) be used to support the argument for a Complicity and Knowledge ethics provision and (2) be part of every government ethics training program. It should serve as an example to show why keeping your own nose clean is not enough.
For my blog posts on Luzerne County, click here.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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Yes, what happened in Bell was appalling. But what happened in Luzerne County, PA was far, far worse. And yet, for example, the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics has two blog posts about Bell, and none about Luzerne County.
The reason I raise this issue is that I feel that government ethics puts too much emphasis on money and the misconduct of bad apples. Although money was involved in Luzerne County, in fact a lot more than in Bell, what makes the scandal so horrible is that (1) it led to hundreds of young people being imprisoned in juvenile detention centers who had done nothing and who had been given almost no chance to defend themselves (this is why it's known as the Kids for Cash scandal); and (2) a large number of professionals inside and outside of the court system knew something serious was wrong, and yet only a handful of them tried to do anything to bring notice to what was happening and bring it to a stop.
What happened in Luzerne County would have been horrible even if no money had been involved. Injustice was done to children, and the justice system and all those involved in it, not just the two judges who went to prison, failed to protect them.
The lesson to be learned from this scandal is also more important. Everyone in government, and even those who come into contact with government and whose livelihood depend on government, have an obligation to report misconduct. When they fail to do so, very bad things happen.
The reason I raise this issue now is that I just learned about a new book about the scandal, called Kids for Cash, by William Ecenbarger. The book was reviewed (five months late) in the New York Times Book Review yesterday, and does not appear to have been widely reviewed.
What happened in Luzerne County should (1) be used to support the argument for a Complicity and Knowledge ethics provision and (2) be part of every government ethics training program. It should serve as an example to show why keeping your own nose clean is not enough.
For my blog posts on Luzerne County, click here.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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