What’s Operation Dollar Bill Worth?
rappers
heloping or hurting ‘culture of curruption’
What about US Attorney Robert Corrente’s vaunted ‘Operation Dollar Bill’? So far, Rhode Island Senator John Celona has landed in jail…Representative Gerry Martineau has been convicted…and there’s been a lot of talk and suspicion. There was a conviction of the Roger Williams Medical Center officials that Celona pointed to…but federal judges threw out that case, and the trial will start over again. So the ‘Operation’ is now three years old. And the US Attorney’s prosecutor said there are at least seven politicians and seven businesses under investigation. Which has a bunch of lawmakers at the Statehouse kind of nervous…and many in the public believing all politicians are crooks. Is it time to pull this investigation to the finish line?
Here are your answers to the question of whether ‘Operation Dollar Bill’ is cleansing Rhode Island of the culture of corruption…or perpetuating it:
Who gives a rat!! This is more of the “Rhode Island “as it is story. We don’t even have lawyers who can fight for the citizens correctly!! We are all doomed to die at the hands of unscrupulous individuals as has been the case for the past 50 years!
Ed, Coventry
There is no “so-called climate of corruption” in this state: there is major CORRUPTION in this state.
State jobs filled with someone’s relative or hanger on, never mind if they are qualified or not. I know of someone with a couple of advanced degrees that worked for DEM and he was treated like a gofer by the people who worked with him and a couple of them had not made it through high school, never mind college with wildlife management degrees. My friend left the state employ. The others are still there doing not much of anything except collecting their pay checks. That they can manage to do.
UNTIL someone cleans out the deadwood and the slackers this state is going no where but down the tubes.
Our elected officials are made of teflon and nothing sticks it slides off and stinks and we keep electing these crooks. I guess we get what we deserve.
Judith, Coventry
Several times a year, we hear about this one stealing that, as a tax paypayer I’m sick of it! Where is the restitution? Joe Mollicone won’t live long enough to repay the money he ripped off. Especially at a hundred dollars a week. He’s just one of MANY. Yet the Governor wants to make the state workers suffer the consequences of a SHORT FALL by layoffs, and furloughs for state workers. Sundlen did it too. As Governor, Mr. Carceri needs to MAKE THE CROOKS PAY BACK ALL THE CASH. Sell their homes, realestate, jewelry, Stocks, bonds ....everything they own , to PAY back to the people of RI who don’t deserve to suffer .
Dawn M
I don’t think this scandal is hurting corruption accusations any more than any other scandal. The problem of corruption goes much farther than Rhode Island. My question is when is everybody stop crying and complaining and do something about it?
Roger G
Operation Dollar Bill is definitely hurting RI. The criminals get caught, then get off on a technicality or their sentences get overturned. It definitely makes people wonder if RI is just criminals helping criminals, under the guise of legality.
Thom and Sue
I don’t see it helping any. It is getting so that there is no benefit to following the law. Convicted of corruption? Another judge will let you out. Sentenced for the deaths of a hundred people? You still get to go home early. Buy a lottery ticket even though it is clearly prohibited by your probation? You still get to keep the money. Get caught working here illegally? People will complain that it is the immigration officials that are tearing apart your family. Want to close a budget shortfall by suggesting that maybe the state shouldn’t be responsible for the health insurance of people here illegally?
Again, you are the bad guy. Here illegally and get hurt? You still get to sue, and win compensation. Heck, we’ll even give you a special visa so that you can come back into the country to do so.
It would be nice if somebody actually enforced some of the laws we already have.
Bill, Portsmouth
You only have to read the article “State House Lobbying Efforts’ in the ProJo of 1/21/08 (Section C) to determine that the Operation Dollar Bill Investigation is necessary. As long as the voters in this state remain brain dead and allow the Democratic Party to continue their ways there will be no improvement in the way state government is run. The only real solution, which probably has the same chances as that proverbial snowball, is a Constitutional Amendment abolishing the General Assembly and replacing it with a permanent Unicameral Assembly consisting of 60 members. Each of the 5 counties would elect 12 members with 1/3 being elected every two years, with 8 year term limits. The voters would also have voter initiative with no restrictions what-so-ever.
Bob D, warwick
Operation Dollar Bill is actually helping the corrupt politicians and the climate of corruption for a number of reasons. 1-it is taking so long. 2-convictions are being overturned. 3-we all know who the corrupt politicians are yet there have been no arrests, no convictions, and no resignations and 4- they keep on taking from the citizens (lining their own pockets) without any concern that we too are running out of money. I will not vote for even one incumbent in the next election. It is time to think of short term limits to limit power and corruption. Maybe new blood will equal honest politicians.
Carol, NK
Nothing short of a miracle will help anything in RI. By that I mean, we need to stop blaming out politicians for all our woes and blame ourselves for putting them there. As Rhode Islanders, we need to get that old RI feeling back and take back our great State.
We have lost so many native Rhode Islanders that that just might be impossible though. The climate here has changed so much that all the politicians want is $$$ and power, not helping our State. The “new” Rhode Islanders that move here just want to have their backs scratched and palms greased, and that’s both the rich and poor coming into RI. There is very little if any real hard working “middle class” in RI any more. There are no jobs for them. It is much to expensive for them to feed their families. It is no wonder that this State is LOSING population and in a RECESSION.
Moving Soon Ourselves
RI has always been known from coast to coast & border to border as the most corrupt state in the country , the Roger Williams scandal & the Veterans Home mess are just two examples on different ends of the spectrum. Now this state has a triple whammy as also being one of the most expensive to live in as well as being anti working class/blue collar on top of all that. They need to make room in the ACI for the new “guests” that may arrive.
Hound Dog, Bristol
