Re:Apple’s head of security indicted in Santa Clara County C...
by hedora on Wednesday November 25, 2020 @11:48AM
(#25211199)
If people paying had no legal incentive to keep their bribe private after the fact, then accepting a bribe would be much riskier than it currently is in the US.
Once it became common knowledge that some officials were extracting bribes, it would be simple to jail them.
After all, if I paid a bribe, and it was legal to pay it, but illegal to receive it, I’d certainly document the payment as well as I could.
After the house was built, you can bet I’d try to recoup my funds, and also figuratively burn the county office to the ground by pursuing every option I could in the press and in court.
I don’t think I’m naive as you think. The officials in this area behave exactly as you describe. The difference in my situation is that, if there was concrete evidence of bribery at the planning office, it would be prosecuted and it would make headlines (just as the bribery case in the article did.)
Local governments that withhold building permits and corruption at PG&E have become so politically contentious that the state government has had to repeatedly intervene.
Once it became common knowledge that some officials were extracting bribes, it would be simple to jail them.
After all, if I paid a bribe, and it was legal to pay it, but illegal to receive it, I’d certainly document the payment as well as I could.
After the house was built, you can bet I’d try to recoup my funds, and also figuratively burn the county office to the ground by pursuing every option I could in the press and in court.
I don’t think I’m naive as you think. The officials in this area behave exactly as you describe. The difference in my situation is that, if there was concrete evidence of bribery at the planning office, it would be prosecuted and it would make headlines (just as the bribery case in the article did.)
Local governments that withhold building permits and corruption at PG&E have become so politically contentious that the state government has had to repeatedly intervene.