The sun rises and sets in every country in the world. It cares nothing about national borders or languages. It is so supremely constant that we use its passage along the horizon to keep track of time. Another constant phenomenon which respects neither national borders nor language is corruption, because every country is populated by humans, and humans, regardless of nationality, are flawed. And therefore, every country in the world suffers from the occasional misbehavior of its government or judicial branch.
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As an example; in 2007, a rogue Italian prosecutor arrested, imprisoned and convicted an innocent Italian man and his American girlfriend for the murder of the American girl’s close friend, a crime which was in actuality committed by a man who was, all circumstances seem to indicate, a police informant. The Italian man, Raffaele Sollecito and the American woman, Amanda Knox, were convicted and sentenced to 25 and 26 years in prison, respectively, for a crime all evidence strongly indicated they did not commit.
But in 2010, Italy, appalled by the apparent injustice, appointed a judge with no pre-conceived notions, no bias, and a desire only to find the truth. It was a brave move. That judge, the Honorable Claudio Pratillo Hellmann, presided over the appeal of the murder case, and in a proceeding that brought great honor to the nation of Italy, a jury of Italians declared Sollecito and Knox innocent.
No country is immune from the scourge of rogue police and prosecutors. Certainly not the United States.
In 2006, in the U.S., three American male college students, all members of the Duke University (Durham, North Carolina) lacrosse team were arrested for the forcible rape of a dancer employed to perform at a team party. The prosecutor on the case, Mike Nifong, claimed that he had evidence to substantiate the charges against the men.
In reality, Nifong had nothing to corroborate the charges. The victim, a prostitute, provided several contradicting stories of the alleged attack. DNA tests of the victim did not show a single match for any of the 46 lacrosse team players, but Nifong lied about the findings. In early 2007, under immense pressure and suspicion, Nifong was removed from the case and it was taken over by the state of North Carolina, and a truly unbiased investigation was conducted. Soon after, the accused men—all innocent—were exonerated. In April of the same year, the North Carolina attorney general called Nifong a “rogue prosecutor.” A judicial panel found him guilty of fraud, dishonesty, deceit, lying about material facts, and withholding exculpatory DNA evidence. He was convicted of criminal contempt and sentenced to a day in jail and disbarred.
As an FBI agent for a quarter of a century, I have seen my share of police, prosecutorial and judicial misconduct. The FBI is given the responsibility for the investigation of malfeasance by any officer of the court, from the lowliest policeman to the highest judge. I can tell you from sad experience that I have seen malfeasance at every level. I personally have investigated and recommended the prosecution of the chief of police of a large department. The FBI itself has investigated and prosecuted corrupt federal judges and even congressman, senators and other political officials. Sadly, I have even seen fellow agents found to be corrupt. It is heartbreaking.
When an act of obvious injustice occurs in any country, the temptation is to point to that country or to their leadership and claim that they too are corrupt. In reality, every country suffers from corruption at some level or another. It is the human condition. The fact that one member of a judiciary is corrupt does not mean the entire government is corrupt.
The question is not whether a country is going to suffer from corruption, but when. The greater question is what the country will do about the corruption they see.
Eighteen months ago, an American, Jacob Ostreicher, who was operating a rice farm in Bolivia, was arrested for “Illegal Enrichment.” Initial indications were that he may have committed no crime. I traveled to Bolivia at the request of his family to investigate this alleged crime, and I was ready to say that he was guilty if I believed that to be the case. But I believe that overwhelming evidence proves that he is innocent. I have significant experience in investigating international criminal activity, whether individual or government-sponsored. What I found was that Jacob was being extorted by a group of people, many of whom were members of the government, some of whom claimed to be operating on instructions and protocol from the highest levels of government.
I was vocal about my findings about corruption in the Bolivian Justice Ministry. I twice testified before the United States Congress. I prepared an extensive investigative report outlining my findings, and submitted that report to Congress, which provided it to the U.S. State Department and to the United Nations. Had nothing happened at that point, one might have been justified in claiming that the entirety of the Bolivian government was corrupt. But something did happen.
The President of Bolivia; Juan Evo Morales, listened.
Image may be NSFW.But in 2010, Italy, appalled by the apparent injustice, appointed a judge with no pre-conceived notions, no bias, and a desire only to find the truth. It was a brave move. That judge, the Honorable Claudio Pratillo Hellmann, presided over the appeal of the murder case, and in a proceeding that brought great honor to the nation of Italy, a jury of Italians declared Sollecito and Knox innocent.
No country is immune from the scourge of rogue police and prosecutors. Certainly not the United States.
In 2006, in the U.S., three American male college students, all members of the Duke University (Durham, North Carolina) lacrosse team were arrested for the forcible rape of a dancer employed to perform at a team party. The prosecutor on the case, Mike Nifong, claimed that he had evidence to substantiate the charges against the men.
In reality, Nifong had nothing to corroborate the charges. The victim, a prostitute, provided several contradicting stories of the alleged attack. DNA tests of the victim did not show a single match for any of the 46 lacrosse team players, but Nifong lied about the findings. In early 2007, under immense pressure and suspicion, Nifong was removed from the case and it was taken over by the state of North Carolina, and a truly unbiased investigation was conducted. Soon after, the accused men—all innocent—were exonerated. In April of the same year, the North Carolina attorney general called Nifong a “rogue prosecutor.” A judicial panel found him guilty of fraud, dishonesty, deceit, lying about material facts, and withholding exculpatory DNA evidence. He was convicted of criminal contempt and sentenced to a day in jail and disbarred.
As an FBI agent for a quarter of a century, I have seen my share of police, prosecutorial and judicial misconduct. The FBI is given the responsibility for the investigation of malfeasance by any officer of the court, from the lowliest policeman to the highest judge. I can tell you from sad experience that I have seen malfeasance at every level. I personally have investigated and recommended the prosecution of the chief of police of a large department. The FBI itself has investigated and prosecuted corrupt federal judges and even congressman, senators and other political officials. Sadly, I have even seen fellow agents found to be corrupt. It is heartbreaking.
When an act of obvious injustice occurs in any country, the temptation is to point to that country or to their leadership and claim that they too are corrupt. In reality, every country suffers from corruption at some level or another. It is the human condition. The fact that one member of a judiciary is corrupt does not mean the entire government is corrupt.
The question is not whether a country is going to suffer from corruption, but when. The greater question is what the country will do about the corruption they see.
Eighteen months ago, an American, Jacob Ostreicher, who was operating a rice farm in Bolivia, was arrested for “Illegal Enrichment.” Initial indications were that he may have committed no crime. I traveled to Bolivia at the request of his family to investigate this alleged crime, and I was ready to say that he was guilty if I believed that to be the case. But I believe that overwhelming evidence proves that he is innocent. I have significant experience in investigating international criminal activity, whether individual or government-sponsored. What I found was that Jacob was being extorted by a group of people, many of whom were members of the government, some of whom claimed to be operating on instructions and protocol from the highest levels of government.
I was vocal about my findings about corruption in the Bolivian Justice Ministry. I twice testified before the United States Congress. I prepared an extensive investigative report outlining my findings, and submitted that report to Congress, which provided it to the U.S. State Department and to the United Nations. Had nothing happened at that point, one might have been justified in claiming that the entirety of the Bolivian government was corrupt. But something did happen.
The President of Bolivia; Juan Evo Morales, listened.
Clik here to view.
President Evo Morales, Bolivia
President Morales ordered an investigation, and at this writing at least seven members of various government agencies involved in the case have been arrested and are awaiting charges and trial. Early on, seeing no movement in the case and watching Jacob languish in prison, I despaired as to whether the Bolivian government was going to take corrective action. Certainly I was critical of Bolivia, not just those who were guilty of the extortion, but now I see that much of that criticism was unjustified. As I have written in this article and previous articles, there is NO country which does not suffer from occasional lapses of judicial fairness. It is not whether it will happen that is the measure of a country or a government, it is what the country or government does about it.
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Jacob Ostreicher and his granddaughters.
I am happy to report that under the leadership of President Morales, Bolivia is moving quickly in the right direction, and indications are that Mr. Morales is moving to get to the bottom of this case of injustice. He was elected as a man of the people, and the greatest measure of a president is not just whether he is the man of his OWN people, it is whether he is a man of ALL people. Jacob Ostreicher is an American. The fact that Bolivia has had disagreements with America is undisputed. The measure of a statesman, the measure of a government and the measure of a man is whether they can rise above petty, political differences, and in the name of humanity, do justice when it might be easier to seek political gain. President Morales appears to be doing his best to root out government corruption, even when the victim is an American.
It appears that President Morales is poised to prove himself a statesman and a leader of ALL people by the honorable correction of judicial oppression.
It appears that President Morales is poised to prove himself a statesman and a leader of ALL people by the honorable correction of judicial oppression.