INFLATION AND DEFLATION: THE PRICE OF CRIME:

The Miami Herald reported last week that veteran Miami Officer David Donaldson, was recorded on a surveillance tape by internal affairs investigators collecting $200 in separate payments from the informant, who was not named or charged in connection with the investigation.

$200.00????!!!!! In the old days, a city of miami cop didn’t sell his uniform for less than 10g plus a few kilos of coke. Those of us who are old enough remember that even before the infamous River Cops, a City Miami Major named Orrett ( the spelling is phonetic) and his brother, also a Cop became the personal enforcers for a group of traffickers in Miami. The Brothers Orrett spent the 80’s in Federal Prison.

Speaking of Bribery, just a few weeks ago a familiar name forever linked with bribery was seen skulking the halls of the Justice Building. In fact, former Judge and convicted felon Roy T. Gelber was seen lurking right around the corner from his old courtroom on the third floor where he hatched so many of his schemes to sell his greed stained robes for kickbacks on court appointments.

Remember that scene (straight out of a bad B movie) when Gelber’s fellow Judge and henchman Harvey Schenberg is stuffing $50,000.00 down his pants on an FBI video tape and remarking that “its hard to send a kid through college on a Judge’s salary?” One wonders what Gelber and Schenberg would think of the fact that the price of bribery has fallen to record lows in Miami?

Of course the more things change, the more they remain the same: think Gelber has any unique insight into co-defendant (although he was acquitted) and fellow member of the Justice Building Hall of Shame former Judge Phillip Davis and his new arrest? Unfortunately for Davis, his former attorney Alcee Hastings now prowls the halls of a much larger nest of thieves and den of vipers than our small justice building: namely the US Congress.

At least fraud in Congress has kept pace with inflation. Former Lobbyist Jack Abramoff is charged with fraud arising from his lobbying activities that netted him 80 million dollars over the last few years. Say what you want about Officer Donaldson and Abramoff, but at least if Abramoff was committing a crime, he was doing it for some significant pocket change. 80 million gets you a whole lot better defense than 200 bucks. Sheesh, you need more than $200.00 to get Sy Gaer.