Marracco Trial Defense: extortion is the essence of our electoral system

[Henry Whalley]

Marracco tries to dodge prison in Macomb corruption scandal

Robert SnellThe Detroit News

Detroit — Former Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Anthony Marrocco should be spared prison for attempted extortion because he is elderly, suffering from health problems and because the pressures of campaign fundraising are ongoing and an integral part of politics, his lawyer said.

"Defense counsel is not suggesting that Mr. Marrocco did nothing wrong...the court should acknowledge the fact that as long as we have an electoral system, the presence and pressures of fundraising activities will remain an integral part of it," Fishman wrote. "...what Mr. Marrocco did in this case in terms of pressuring someone to purchase fundraising tickets has been going on since time immemorial and is still going on today."

[JBMcB]

Here's a voicemail left on a lobbyist's voice mail from Elenore Homes-Watson, a federal congressional representative from the District of Columbia. In it, she expresses surprise that the lobbyist had not donated to her campaign, as she sits on the federal building commission and the lobbyist represents builders whom bid on federal contracts. I mean, what the hell is the lobbyist thinking not giving her money!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLKU8iw5fSs

[Richard]

Here's a voicemail left on a lobbyist's voice mail from Elenore Homes-Watson, a federal congressional representative from the District of Columbia. In it, she expresses surprise that the lobbyist had not donated to her campaign, as she sits on the federal building commission and the lobbyist represents builders whom bid on federal contracts. I mean, what the hell is the lobbyist thinking not giving her money!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLKU8iw5fSs

He says he is surprised by this lol

That stuff has been going on forever on both sides of the isle,that’s why they go into politics broke and come out millionaires.

It is the American publics fault because we forget the - We The People - part and keep viewing them as our leaders,they are not our leaders,they are elected to be our voice and when they stop doing that they need to be fired no different then any of us would be if we became non performing in our jobs.

That video is enough to remove her,my guess is nothing will happen not even punishment for something as brazen/stupid as talking on the phone when it is well known that you do not talk on the phone.

[CassTechGrad]

I'm shocked, shocked, that stuff like this has been going on!!!

[JBMcB]

That video is enough to remove her,my guess is nothing will happen not even punishment for something as brazen/stupid as talking on the phone when it is well known that you do not talk on the phone.

That video was from over 10 years ago. I first heard it on This American Life around the same time. She's still in office. She's been the representative for the District of Columbia since 1991. I wonder if she ever got her campaign contribution, or if the company the lobbyist represented ever got another government contract.

[Richard]

That video was from over 10 years ago. I first heard it on This American Life around the same time. She's still in office. She's been the representative for the District of Columbia since 1991. I wonder if she ever got her campaign contribution, or if the company the lobbyist represented ever got another government contract.

In theory the feds should stop charging politicians with excepting bribes,unless they are really charging them because they did not follow proper protocol and use a lobbyist.

The problem is in the old days if you bribed somebody you got results,performance based bribes,now the attitude is give me money because I am here and do not expect results.

To me it is no different then allowing politicians to hold stock in companies that they are making regulations on.

This is why when ever you see a change in administration all of the politicians that have to leave end up in high paid positions that do not to require them to show up,mob style,paid for no show jobs.

I still say that is the only reason the feds cracked down on the mob ,they do not like competition.

Bet cha if somebody in a red hat said something like that,the internet would be blowing up and 25 formal investigations would be launched by every governmental acronym possible.

[Henry Whalley]

...feds cracked down on the mob, they do not like competition.

AFAIK, Rudy eliminated Cosa Nostra in NYC in order to create opportunities for the Russian mob who filled the vacuum and made Rudy and Maralago Mussolini the men they are today.

[Richard]

AFAIK, Rudy eliminated Cosa Nostra in NYC in order to create opportunities for the Russian mob who filled the vacuum and made Rudy and Maralago Mussolini the men they are today.

Russian mob was already established and Rudy and the other one were in 2 different worlds,Rudy was taking on the mob and the other one had to deal with them just like anybody else that was in construction in NYC at the time.

Rudy did not really do much to break up the mob,he just exploited their stupidity,they are still there,they just learned not to draw attention to themselves like the old school,there has not been a mob hit in over 20 years,they just shelve people now,murder carries a life sentence and leaving bodies in the street draws attention.

The Odessa mafia established in NYC in 1975 and was already well entrenched before Rudy as mayor directed the police chief to go after the mob,in 1994.

The Russian mob was hard to break up or infiltrate because much like the Detroit mob they did not rat each other out,so the feds had to find real evidence verses relying on rats.

The Russian mob gained ground when the Soviet Union collapsed because they got into the big bucks selling arms,tried to sell a decommissioned Soviet sub to the Columbian cartel.


They did hit them hard in 2017 when they indicted 30 of them for several things,the one that stands out the most was the charge of trafficking 10,000 pounds of stolen chocolate.

But is corruption any different when the unions influence local elections?

Why is one form of corruption as defined perfectly acceptable while the other is not according to who you are?

It’s illegal if you are a criminal but if you are a politician and as long as you do not piss people off it’s perfectly acceptable as a way of doing business.It’s just the way things get done.

Look at places like Illinois,Louisiana,Alabama,Arkansas,the state would probably collapse if you removed all of the corruption that been ingrained for over 100 years,many small towns.

Heck in Arkansas you could take a airport and declare it a safe zone for drug traffickers flying in tons and they make you a president of the United States.

I think there are two forms of corruption,there is self serving corruption where there should be no leeway given and then there is corruption that actually works to serve the greater good because it is the only way you get anything done.

Does anybody really believe the bridge to nowhere really got approved void of any corruption?

Citys like Miami,Ontario,Quebec etc they would not be 1/2 the cities they are today without the corruption and illicit gains that built them.

[Henry Whalley]

The Odessa mafia established in NYC in 1975 and was already well entrenched before Rudy as mayor directed the police chief to go after the mob,in 1994.

Disagree with your timeline. Brighton Beach had big competition from Cosa Nostra until Rudy led the 1980s federal prosecution of New York City mafia bosses as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. In the Mafia Commission Trial, which ran from February 25, 1985, through November 19, 1986, Giuliani indicted eleven organized crime figures, including the heads of New York City's so-called "Five Families", under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act [[RICO) on charges including extortion, labor racketeering, and murder for hire.

As mayor he pivoted to a partnership with Bratva that exists to this day.