Keep the pressure on for honest government

It has been a sleepless week for many of our humble public servants, no doubt. The news of federal agents rousting 11 officials out of their beds around dawn, slapping cuffs on them and accusing them of corruption came with a promise from U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie — “we and the FBI are not done in Monmouth County.”

We can imagine those with guilty consciences making mental checklists of their wrongdoings, perhaps praying that if they got away this time, they would never do it again.

The sting sent a shock wave throughout the county’s political establishment, leaving honest politicians with the task of performing damage control on their reputations. Public opinion on the honesty of politicians seemed to have hit a new low with the recent push for strong ethics reform laws, but Feb. 22, 2005, will now live on in infamy.

The good news is that, in light of this mess, our representatives in Trenton and on the local level seem more eager than ever to clean house. Many have responded with new calls to clamp down on pay-to-play, a practice Assemblyman Michael Panter aptly described as “legalized political bribery.” Although some weren’t entirely pleased with the state bill that passed Monday, the momentum for real reform probably has never been stronger.

We welcome that prospect, but with the disclaimer that, in the cases of these local officials, pay-to-play laws wouldn’t have made any difference whatsoever. If there’s a willingness to break them, no laws exist that can stop a public official from accepting a paper bag stuffed with cash beneath a restaurant table in exchange for favors. But there are ways to help curb such corruption.

Law enforcement agencies must continue to fight these battles with full aggression. They should keep the issue of corruption on the front burner and continue making arrests until officials view the risk of getting busted as far beyond the rewards they get from their petty bribes. Fear can be a powerful motivating force.

Also, office holders must do a better job policing themselves. If they’re offered a bribe or have it on good information that one of their colleagues has accepted one, they should do something about it.

We applaud those at the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office for taking this issue so seriously, and look forward with great interest to seeing where this investigation is headed next.