Dear City Council:
This month at our regularly scheduled Culver City Democratic Club meeting, Mayor Andy Weissman gave us an overview of the budget problems and elicited comments on the subject. The way it was presented felt like it was an “act of God” that had befallen us and we just had to tighten our belts and deal with it – which we are willing to do.
However, I mentioned that our city and many other municipalities, states and the federal government were all ripped-off by crooks in suits on Wall Street for trillions of dollars.
Few, if any, are being prosecuted. I suggested that we, Culver City, join with many cities throughout California and the nation to bring lawsuits against these crooks in suits and their banks.
Why would this be to our advantage?
Some lawsuits have forced investigations, some fines and some restitution. If we combined with many other cities across the nation, the individual cost of the suits would be minimal.
Since so few traders and bank executives are currently being sued or prosecuted, they are continuing to break laws and give themselves outrageous bonuses. If some of them were tagged with jail sentences, fines and restitution, it could deter such fraudulent and blatant crimes in the future.
It is not an either/or situation. With the statute of limitations ticking, a little effort now could pay off large later on.
• Push the U.S. Attorney General to give more funds to investigate and prosecute.
• Join cities already taking action.
This forwarded email below encompasses my thoughts on the issue.
Seriously consider these actions. If you decide not to pursue them, please let the Culver City Democratic Club and me know specifically why.
Here is the email:
Dear Thomas –
Every week it seems there is a new major banking scandal with the biggest Wall Street firms like JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America or Wells Fargo getting caught defrauding customers, homeowners and investors. But the Justice Department has been asleep at the wheel: they just don’t act serious about putting Wall Street criminals in jail.
Attorney General Holder and the Justice Department have put more time and resources into going after retired athletes and cheating husbands than the bank executives who drove the economy over a cliff. Despite plenty of evidence implicating them in massive fraud, these crooks have escaped by paying miniscule fines that were just a fraction of what they stole, and none have faced criminal prosecution.
Either the DOJ is obstructing justice or they are just plain incompetent.
It’s time to tell Attorney General Holder that we can’t have two systems of justice in this country: one for the rich and powerful, where Wall Street criminals are actually rewarded with bailouts and huge bonuses, and another for the rest of us, where petty criminals end up in prison with disproportionately harsh sentences. Even though a new financial crimes task force was announced to great fanfare back in January, it has not received anything close to the necessary level of resources to conduct a serious investigation.
And time is running out. Statutes of limitations on bank crimes are on the verge of expiring – so unless the Justice Department takes forceful action, and quickly, those responsible for the worst economic crash since the Great Depression will walk away with fatter wallets while the rest of us struggle for jobs and opportunity. The investigations need more resources, and they need them now!
I demand that Attorney General Eric Holder put real staffing and resources into investigating banker crimes.
Banker Crime Spree is a project of Campaign for a Fair Settlement and the Common Good Network. The 'Holder Hold-Up' petition is a joint effort between Campaign for a Fair Settlement and its state allies as well as the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment.
Mr. Camarella, Chair, Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles Elected Delegate for CDP 47th Assembly District President Emeritus, Culver City Democratic Club, may be contacted at tom4culvercity@aol.com
