There was an article by James Copland & Rafael Mangual, fellows at the Manhattan Institute, on page A15 of the 2/19/25 issue of the Wall Street Journal titled “Precedents for the Eric Adams Case.” In summary, some lawyers from the DOJ resigned because the DOJ dropped the corruption and wire fraud (same charge as me) charges against the current mayor of NYC. Here are my thoughts:
1) To quote The Animal Farm, “we are all equal, but some of us are more equal than others.” It is nice that the big fish get to go free with non-prosecution agreements, while the little fish have the book thrown at them and spend plenty of time in prison.
2) WSJ Quote -“For more than 30 years, the DOJ & its subsidiaries have made a common practice of entering into “deferred prosecution or nonprosecution agreements” (DPNA’s) through which the department agrees to suspend or delay a prosecution if parties in the govt crosshairs (TYPICALLY LARGE CORPORATIONS & THEIR TOP EXECUTIVES OR OTHER RICH PEOPLE) take a series of actions congenial to their Justice overseers.”
2a) Dennis Zeedyk thoughts – It must be nice to commit your crimes while working for a large corporation so that the DOJ will work with you and your employer to keep you going to jail. If you are rich, you get a DPNA. If you are middle class or poor, you go to prison. Where is the equality in this?
3) WSJ Quote – “Pawan Passi, former head of the US Equity Syndicate Desk of Morgan Stanley was accused of illegally funneling confidential information on clients ‘block sales’ of stock to preferre corporate clients, knowing they could trade this information for profit. The prosecuting feds decided to let Mr. Passi & Morgan Stanley walk — but only after the investment bank coughed up $153 million to the government, displayed “cooperation” with the investigation, and agreed to the prosecutors preferred “remedial measures.”
3a) DZ Thoughts – You pay $153 million and you don’t go to jail – this sounds to me like buying your way out of prison. Isn’t that in and of itself a type of bribery? I cooperated 100% fully with the investigation (could not have cooperated any more than what I did), closed down the company and did an FDA recall of all our products and I got a 4-year sentence, part of which was the result of an upward departure.
4) WSJ Quote – “Since the turn of the century, the Justice Dept has entered into 667 DPNA’S. Since 2010, 25% OF FORTUNE 100 COMPANIES – THE LARGEST AMERICAN BUSINESSES BY REVENUE – have been operating under the thumb of DOJ agreements not to prosecute.”
4a) DZ Thoughts – WOW! What I am reading here is that in the past 25 years, 1/4 of the largest US companies committed a crime during the course of doing business, which is already amazing to me. Even more amazing is that they all get a pass with a DNPA. Is committing a crime the only way to get ahead in business? If you do commit the crime, it is nice to know that you are “more equal than others” and can get off and not go to prison.
5) WSJ Quote – “After the financial crisis, the Obama administration officials forced many banks to underwrite new “affordable housing” developments, give grants to community organizers, direct money to legal aid groups, etc. In the GW Bush administration, the USAO for N.J. required Bristol-Myers Squibb to endow a faculty chair for the Seton Hall Law School, the alma mater of then U.S. Attorney Chris Christie.
5a) DZ Thoughts – This sounds like coercion to me.
6) WSJ Quote – “In 2014, the Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell argued that DNPA’s were a ‘more powerful tool than actually going to trial’ because ‘you will also have a monitor and will do all sorts of other things for the next 5 years, and if you don’t do them….. then you can still be prosecuted.'”
6a) DZ Thoughts – Still sounds like coercion to me.
7) Here is an example of a well-known DPNA: Jeffrey Epstein received a DPNA during his first trial in ~2007 due to his wealth and connections. How much less evil would have prevailed and fewer young girls sexually abused if he had been treated like a normal US citizen the first time, taken to trial, been convicted and sentenced to prison for many years?
