New Times / Letter To The Editor

This is a broken system

Dave Stevens

It was recently discovered that HSBC Bank has laundered billions of dollars for drug cartels, Iran, even groups with ties to al-Qaeda. Our federal prosecutors say they will not prosecute even one person because it might upset the entire banking industry. Boy, have I got a nice used bridge to sell you.

Not one Wall Street Banker will be (or has been after four years) prosecuted due to our federal prosecutors claiming they would not be able to prove that the fraud Wall Street committed was “intentional.” Are you kidding me? No executives from Wall Street who caused people to lose billions have spent even one day in jail.

Then I read about the extremely bright young man who committed suicide due to threats of 10 years of incarceration from government prosecutors regarding a situation that was actually just a civil matter.

How about the family man with two young children facing a 15-year federal prison sentence for growing a room full of pot for a dispensary, while completely abiding by California law?

It seems the ones that can fix the problem are the ones causing it. Something is going very, very wrong with our system.