P«ge « Portland Observar Thursday M arch 16. 167»
American State Bank
Behind the Wall
Julius D. Snowden »38013
Poetrv Editor
Larry Baker »35021,
O.S.P. Correspondent
William L.ass well, district attorney
for Douglas County has drafted a
bill that would abolish the Oregon
State Parole Board on January 1,
1980
This bill (H B 2707) was introduced
to the Oregon Legislature by Repre
sentative Bill Markham, R-Riddle
REASO N: It’s members are ap
pointed by the Governor, therefore,
has no direct responsibility to the
public.
REASON: Each of the five mem
bers is salaried in a range from
$28,500-536,000 for a job for which
there are “ no qualifications.”
REASON: The parole board “ is
not competent” , only one member.
Chairman Bill Cogswell, have had
any experience in penology.
REASON: The board is “ totally
in d iffe re n t” to the rights o f the
public to be secure in person and
property.
REASON: Allowing judges trying
the case to fix sentence once and for
all.
Lasswell alleges that the adoption
of the 1977 “ matrix” system is not
working under the authority o f pre
sent board and such power should be
placed in the hands of the sentenc
ing judge or a board o f judges made
up from each congressional district.
Presently four circuit judges from
the metropolitan area and one from
Vale work to advise on how the
matrix should function.
The Douglas County district at
torney had a lot more to say in his
press release to Ken Z a n k ,
Oregonian correspondent, about the
parole boards abolishment bill, but
this ‘ Behind the W a ll’ correspon
dent thought it would be interesting
to go out into the 1,500 inmate
prison population o f O.S.P. to inter
view and poll at random a few o f the
inmates on the subject.
292-2219
2737 N.E. Union
Should Tha Oregon State Parola
Board Ba Abolished?
John C. Bruno (life): "Yes, I feel
strongly it should be abolished. I
strongly believe in many ways the
board is unnecessary "
Donald Zim (20 years): " It would
be a savior to the taxpayer. Namely
the way the 'matrix system* is set-up.
There isn’t any need for this body of
members to inform an individual
when he is to be released.
"1 think the issue o f this bill to dis
miss the parole board has merit, it
helps the state economically.”
Richard Froebling (15 years): “ 1
think the parole board should be
abolished. You should automatically
be eligible for parole after 1/3 o f
your sentence, depending on your
behavior.”
R.K. Curtis (15 years): "1 would
say the state is wasting valuable funds
to keep the board in process when
the Oregon courts ctfuld have the
same amount o f power.”
ARNOLD HARRIS
RICHARD MORRIS
Richard Morris (10 years): "P u t
most o f the decision-making process
o f a parole back into the people
(Superintendent and s ta ff) who
know us best. In this manner some
human
element
can
become
meaningful.”
Arnold M . Harris (20years): "The
parole board should be abolished
They are a tremendous expense to
the taxpayer. They serve no useful
purpose. 1 am sick and tired o f seeing
prisoners who come in after me, who
have more time than 1 plus a record
ten times greater leave, while I ’m still
here
“ The parole board don’t know
who I am, what I am and they don’t
care.
"One letter from a bitter ex-wife
or D .A . can cost you years o f your
life. They don’t ask for proof, you
never get an opportunity to know
your opposition — or why your
parole is denied.
White collar crime carries price tag
by John Conyers, Jr.
Representative, U.S. Congress
Four years ago, the U.S. Chamber
o f Commerce estimated the cost of
white-collar crime conservatively at
$40 billion a year, ten times the value
lost through property-related street
crime. That figure excluded the cost
of antitrust violations that, accord
ing to a Senate staff report, may add
as much as $160 billion.
Recently, the General Accounting
Office reported that, based on its
study o f $250 billion worth of federal
econom ic-aid program s, govern
ment fraud may rake o ff as much as
$25 billion annually. Unfortunately,
no report is available on fraud in
volved in defense contracts and arms
sales abroad.
A few examples illustrate the
nature and scope o f white-collar
crime.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Ad
m inistration estimates that more
than $500 million annually is spent
on worthless or falsely represented
drugs. In the M er/29 case in the ‘60s,
William S Merrell Company sold an
anti-cholesterol drug on which the
company had altered laboratory test
findings. As a result, at least 5,000
persons were subject to serious side
effects, including cataracts and hair
loss.
• The Gulf Oil Corporation distri
buted $10.3 million to American and
oreign politicians in illegal contribu-
ins between 1960 and the early
1970s; leaders o f Sweden, Canada,
South Korea, Italy and Bolivia were
among the beneficiaries.
• The 1975 Equity Funding scan
dal resulted in the conviction o f
Stanley Goldblum, Equity’s chair
man, along with several other cor
porate officials, for manipulating the
price of the company’s stock by in
venting thousands o f fictitious in
surance policies. Thousands o f
shareholders lost their investments.
• C. Arnholt Smith was convicted
in 1975 of making illegal campaign
com ributions: the same year he
pleaded no-contest to federal charges
of engineering one o f the biggest
bank failures in history by defraud
ing his own U.S. National Bank of
$27.5 million, while approving $170
million in illegal loans.
• The Securities and Exchange
Commission in 1972 charged Robert
L. Vesco, along with 20 individuals
and 21 firms, with embezzling more
than $224 million from four mutual
funds under their control; Vesco is
living abroad as a fugitive.
"The Bank that integration built "
The full extent of America's white-
collar crime is still unknown because
so much goes undetected. The
federal government simply lacks the
statistic-gathering capability to
monitor it. But we do know that
w h ite-collar crime eats away at
national income through embezzle
ment, consumer fraud, government
fraud, tax evasion, kickbacks and se
curities fraud — just to name the
major categories.
Such crime contributes heavily to
productivity losses in the workplace,
a major source o f inflation, resulting
from negligent and criminal behavior
that impairs the health and safety
of workers. It cheats consumers of
the real value o f goods and services
that they purchase. The pervasive
double standard under which street
crim inals typ ically receive s tiff
punishment while white-collar crimi
nals frequently get by with mere
slaps on the wrist creates cynicism
toward the law and abets criminal
behavior.
Despite the enormous costs and
hazards of white-collar crime, the
federal government devotes a
miniscule part o f its budget and
manpower to its prosecution and
control. In the wake of Watergate,
Congress has both helped and hind
ered enforcement. It has stiffened
antitrust penalties but at the same
time has blocked cooperation be
tween the Internal Revenue Service
and the Justice Department.
Resources, training and expertise
devoted to enforcement rem ain
meager O f the $2.5 billion in the
current Justice Department budget,
only about $139 million (5.5% ) is de
voted to white-collar crime. O f the
nearly 56,000 department employees,
only about 4,800 (8.6% ) deal with
economic
malfeasance.
The
criminal-fraud section, which over
sees prosecution o f all fraud against
the government as well as corporate
bribery cases, has a budget of only
$2.4 m illio n and a s ta ff o f 50
lawyers. The public-integrity section,
which handles m ajo r p o litical-
corruption cases, has a $1.3 million
budget and 25 lawyers.
Many programs designed to com
bat white-collar crime appear to
thwart serious enforcement efforts.
For example, responsibility for
policing such crimes rests w ith
various regulatory agencies as well as
the Justice Department But the most
aggressive regulatory bodies, such as
the Securities and Exchange Com
mission and the Federal Trade
Commission, are strapped for funds.
Many are enmeshed in conflicting
mandates, both for policing the in
dustries that they regulate and assur
ing them a good climate for growth.
Worst o f all, there is no single con
sumer-protection agency to check
consumer fraud.
Last year the American Bar Asso
ciation concluded that the federal
white-collar crime effort is “ under
funded, undirected and uncoordi
nated,” and, where resources exist,
they are "poorly deployed, under
utilized or frustrated by jurisdic
tional considerations.”
There are reasons for the timidity
o f the federal enforcement effort
against white-collar crime: Cases are
often complex, requiring months or
even years of investigation and litiga
tion. Law-enforcement officials are
also disposed to turn their energies in
other directions, since the public has
little awareness of the costs of white-
collar crime and is often distracted
by the sensationalism of street crime.
But beyond these disincentives is
the nature o f the business-
government relationship itself. Indi
vidualism and belief in the virtue of
free enterprise are deeply ingrained
in the business mind. These attitudes
contribute to the notion that
regulation is illegitimate and that
crim in al laws against im proper
economic behavior are not always
deserving of respect.
Another obstacle stands in the way
o f stepped-up regulation. Since bu
siness contributes heavily to political
campaigns, a rigorous enforcement
policy may not be in the interests of
po litician s.
Furtherm ore,
the
revolving-door relationship between
the public and private sectors —
whereby private businessmen take
jobs in government agencies that
regulate the companies that they for-
erly worked for and former public
officials move into corporate posi
tions — tends to create a cooperative
rather than an adversary relation
ship.
It is imperative that the federal
government develop a serious
strategy against white-collar crime.
For that reason, the House Judi
ciary Committee’s subcommittee on
crime has launched a major inquiry.
I f the inquiry is to succeed, it must
lead to further government action
against w hite-collar crime at all
levels, so that the man who breaks
the law in the boardroom will be as
fearful o f reprisal as the man who
commits a crime on the street
i
“ Everyone should do their own
time no matter how much it is. There
is nothing wrong with keeping this
penitentiary full. I'm just getting
tired o f filling in for someone who
has bought his way out with cash,
sniffling or snitching.”
This Correspondent was ab
solutely stunned and amazed after
interviewing 21 inmates. Those in
favor o f having a parole board
would not place their reasons in
writing for publication. Out o f 21 men
polled thirteen were for abolishment,
six were against and two non
opinion.
Other Interesting Notes
On The Poll
Average age for abolishment —
28.8 years; Average age against
abolishment — 33.2 years; Racial
break-down — favoring — seven
(white), five (Black), two (Mexican
Americans); Racial break-down —
Against — five (white): Non-opinion
— two (white); All 21 inmates are in
favor of prison conjugal visits and
increased prison wages; Attend church
on regular basis — fifteen; Do not
attend church — six; Have a wife or
girlfriend waiting for their release —
seventeen (do), four (do not); Are
fathers — nineteen (are), two (are
not); Prior jail or prison sentence —
sixteen (have), five (have not); Are
high school graduates — seven (yes),
fourteen (no); Serving a victimless
criminal sentence — eleven (yes), ten
(no).
’ Behind the W all’ would like to
express its deepest appreciation to
those inmates who have given their
personal opinions and participated in
the poll. It is hopeful that by ex
pressing your opinions you will not
be hung at ’sunrise.*
Also it is hopeful that district at
torney Lasswell and Representative
Markham will not use this article as
part of any evidence to abolish the
parole board while presenting the bill
to the legislative committee.
As for my own personal comment
on the subject. There is an old Black
folklore that goes: “ Never tear down
anything
unless
you've
got
something better and positive to
replace it with.”
We guarantee
tomorrow today.
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EXODUS
tyattZak
1518 N E KILLINGSWORTH
PORTLAND. OREGON 97211
284 7997
MARCH 1979
On the Season of Spring:
Spring is nature's activity of renewed sub
stance.
On Self-Control:
I count him braver who overcomes his
desires than him who conquers his enemies; for
the hardest victory is the victory over SELF.
Aristotle
On Self-Reliance:
The greatest thing in the world is to know
how to be sufficient unto oneself.
Montaigne
On Reward:
The reward of a thing well dona is to have
done it.
Ralph Waldo Emerson