The following is from C.J. Ciaramella, “New York Prosecutors Gave Themselves $3.2 Million in Bonuses With Asset Forfeiture Funds,” Reason Blog, November 28, 2017:
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in New York doled out $3.25 million in bonuses to prosecutors from its asset forfeiture fund since 2012, according to records obtained by Newsday through a Freedom of Information request.
Newsday reported that the funds were $500,000 more than previously reported, leading to consternation from local legislators:
Bonus recipients included deputy chief homicide prosecutor Robert Biancavilla, who received a total of $108,886 between 2012 and 2017, and division chief Edward Heilig and top public corruption prosecutor Christopher McPartland, who each received $73,000, according to records obtained from county Comptroller John Kennedy’s office through the Freedom of Information Law […]
Task: spot the irony.
Hint: It has to do with Mr. McPartland.
READER COMMENTS
LD Bottorff
Nov 28 2017 at 9:00pm
I am frequently disappointed by the mainstream media but this is the kind of reporting that we need.
Jon Murphy
Nov 28 2017 at 10:26pm
I saw this report earlier. I burst out laughing at the irony when I saw the part about Mr. McPartland.
Procrustes
Nov 29 2017 at 8:25am
I was just listening to a Cato podcast with Clark Neily (apparently formerly of IJ, now at Cato). Neily mentioned that the median civil forfeiture amount was about $9000 but the US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein paints the picture that civil forfeiture goes after the big fish. Just monstrous.
Thaomas
Nov 29 2017 at 10:36am
The “irony” depends on civil forfeiture being labeled “public corruption?”
That seems to deflect the appropriate discussion about civil forfeiture — Should it ever be used?
Under what circumstances if any should it be used? — onto a terminological one is it “public corruption” or not.
David R Henderson
Nov 29 2017 at 12:09pm
@Thaomas,
The “irony” depends on civil forfeiture being labeled “public corruption?”
No. The irony is that McParland, who gained personally from asset forfeiture, is the “top public corruption prosecutor.”
Ransom DeBow
Nov 29 2017 at 3:24pm
If ‘irony’ is a synonym for systematic institutionalized theft, then I guess it’s ironic. Malfeasance seems like a better term though.
Comments are closed.