Nick West's Anti-Corrupion Blog: New York City

Thursday, September 25, 2014

World must tackle corruption to end poverty: UK leader

By Stella Dawson, www.reuters.com
View Original
September 25th, 2014

NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - British Prime Minister David Cameron urged world leaders to adopt 10 “simple and inspiring” global goals to end extreme poverty in 15 years, including one that targets bribery and corruption.

Every indicator on poverty - from women dying in childbirth to children denied an education - shows that the more corrupt a society, the poorer its people, Cameron said on Wednesday at an event on the sidelines of the United Nations' annual meetings.

“Why in too many cases does aid not get through to the people who need it the most? The answer: corruption. Why do so many countries with massive mineral wealth have rich elites and large numbers in grinding poverty? Corruption,” he said.

“So don’t let anyone keep corruption out of how we tackle poverty.”

Yet getting countries to agree on anti-corruption goals has proved challenging, said Helen Clark, the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) administrator.

The current U.N. development goals expire in 2015.

A U.N. working group has proposed 17 new goals, including one on open and responsive governments - to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions”.

“This area has proved to be one of the most controversial in the whole debate and will require very, very powerful advocacy,” Clark said at the event sponsored by the anti-corruption advocacy group Transparency International.

Targets to measure progress toward this goal would include providing all citizens with a legal identity so they can claim their rights and pursue opportunities; ensuring public access to information; and reducing corruption.

A U.N. survey of more than 5 million respondents on the new development goals found that honest, effective government ranked as one of the top four priorities, along with education, healthcare and better job opportunities.

Clark said that the UNDP has found that when governance is weak, corruption and abuse of power grows, making it harder for communities and countries to move ahead.

“We believe that transparent, responsive, and accountable institutions are a vital part of what it takes to improve people’s lives and implement a sustainable development agenda,” she said.

Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama threw his support behind the drive, but noted that it is not simply about ending the corruption that depletes resources in poor countries.

There is also a need to address financial and legal frameworks in the developed world that allow multinationals to plunder those countries, he said.

Mahama cited the sophisticated accounting techniques corporations use to hide revenues and reduce taxes paid in host countries.

Cameron pledged to continue pushing the Group of 20 richest developed and emerging nations on initiatives for sharing tax information and setting up public registries of who owns shell companies.

The UK is at the forefront in drawing up its public registry but faces criticism for providing a loophole for privately held trusts.

(The story corrects survey results in paragraph 10.)

(Reporting by Stella Dawson, Editing by Alisa Tang)

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Corruption Sweep at Rikers Island Leads to 22 Arrests

By Michael Schwirtz, www.nytimes.com
View Original
June 23rd, 2014

The Rikers Island jail complex in New York City has been dogged by reports of abundant contraband and violent episodes. Credit Bebeto Matthews/Associated PressPhoto by: Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press

A sweep by law enforcement authorities at Rikers Island, part of a monthslong investigation into wrongdoing at the jail complex, led to the arrests of two correction officers on Monday night and more than 20 inmates on Tuesday, officials said.

The officers and inmates were part of what officials with the Department of Investigation and the Department of Correction described as a network of contraband smuggling and other criminality at Rikers that has undermined security at the jail complex and contributed to surging violence. The search also uncovered stashes of marijuana, tobacco and weapons. Before Monday, at least 12 other correction officers and their superiors were referred for prosecution as part of the investigation. They were accused of drug trafficking, inmate abuse and falsifying documents, the officials said.

“Criminal conduct in the correctional facilities will not be tolerated,” Mark G. Peters, commissioner of the Department of Investigation, and Joseph Ponte, commissioner of the Department of Correction, said in a statement. If an inmate breaks the law in jail, it is treated as a new arrest. More arrests are expected, officials said.

In just one measure of the rising levels of violence, there were 1,844 uses of force by correction officers at the jail complex from January to May this year, a number that has doubled in the previous three years during the same period, according to the Correction Department. Also during this period, there were 274 drug recoveries and 868 weapons confiscated, the department said.

The latest investigation came after the recent deaths of several inmates and persistent reports by oversight officials, fellow correction officers and civilians of rampant corruption and abuse of inmates by correction officers.

Diane Struzzi, a spokeswoman for the Investigation Department, said that in the last six months, it “significantly stepped up its efforts” at Rikers. Agents quietly gathered incriminating information against correctional officials and inmates, and presented the evidence to Mr. Ponte when he took over as department commissioner this April, Ms. Struzzi said.

“We collaborated on this because the evidence we uncovered showed that prisoners and corrupt correction officers were acting together,” she said.

Over 100 correction officers were searched in the sweep on Monday of the George Motchan Detention Center, which ended at 10:45 p.m. Two officers, identified as Steven Dominguez, 26, and Infinite Devine Rahming, 30, were arrested. They were arraigned on Monday night in Manhattan Criminal Court, charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana, according to the criminal complaint. Both were caught with backpacks containing eight ounces or more of cocaine, according to the report. Marijuana was also found in Officer Dominguez’s vehicle, the complaint said. Prosecutors did not specify if marijuana was found with Officer Rahming.

Bond was set at $500,000, or $250,000 cash alternative.

Norman Seabrook, president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, the correction officers’ union, supported the efforts to curb corruption at the jail but contended the arrests were part of a “witch hunt” against his members. He said that to his knowledge, Officers Dominguez and Rahming, who each have about two years on the job, did not bring drugs onto the territory of the jail.

Mr. Seabrook said he believed the two men were given the backpacks by someone else and might not have known that they contained drugs. He also challenged the assertion that contraband was a major problem at Rikers, noting the relatively small amount of illegal goods confiscated in the search.

Mr. Ponte, a well-regarded prison reformer who has vowed to impose order at Rikers, said in a statement on Tuesday that corruption would not be tolerated. But he defended “the overwhelming majority of correction staff” that he said were “hardworking professionals.”

“Their safety, like the safety of civilian staff, inmates and visitors, demands that we maintain the highest levels of staff integrity,” he said.