Is the District Attorney's Office Performing White Collar Crime in New York City?

There is a new war brewing and its contenders are Robert Morgenthau and the NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. What is this conflict concerning? This battle is about money. The mayor is concerned about seizing control of resources because he is facing numerous budget gaps. Mr. Morgenthau's concern is that all the money other than personnel services has been spent before in the seventies.

Mr. Morgenthau vowed this will never happen again, and he is seeking additional resources of revenue and is personally involved with the budget. Mr. Morgenthau has experienced considerable success within the last thirty-four years in bringing down the rates of violent crime. He has also expanded his role in dealing with economic and white collar crime. His office alone has personally hidden away millions of dollars in undisclosed bank accounts. Mayor Bloomberg feels these millions of dollars should fall under the city's power and not the District Attorney's office.

Mayor Bloomberg has praised Mr. Morgenthau for his successful years of service but he turned around in the same breath and stated that he is wrong for his actions in hiding away money for the District Attorney's office when it should be overseen by the city of New York. Mayor Bloomberg's argument is that the money belongs to the public and not the District Attorney. Mayor Bloomberg has stated that this is analogous to white collar crime that Mr. Morgenthau has prosecuted against.

The District Attorney states that the salary accounts have been known to the administration, and he has written checks from the account several times. He also states that back in the past, there was not enough money to pay his employees and the District Attorney remembers when his office could not pay any of its bills.

The District Attorney has stated that with the emergence of more white collar crime to fight, he needs the money which has been hidden away and he refuses to give it over to the city of New York. This position is due to the discretionary measures of the past of the mayor's office.

The city of New York provides approximately eighty-two percent of the budget for the District Attorney's office. The city wants the monies from all fines and from successful prosecutions. Mayor Bloomberg particular feels that the city should receive all the money from settlements in cases of indictments.

Mr. Morgenthau states that he understands that the state deserves a share of the pot however, the city back in 1985 when he needed money to go after white collar crimes such as tax evaders, his job was scoffed and his office did not have the resources to fight those certain white collar crimes.

Who will you side with on this issue? Mayor Bloomberg who feels the money from the District Attorney's office belongs to the city of New York or the District Attorney who claims the money is needed to undertake regular and white collar crime? I do not believe we have seen the last of this battle between Mayor Bloomberg and the District Attorney Mr. Morgenthau.

Displaying American Flags - When Can't You Display a Flag?

When can't you display an American flag? The Flag Code lays out specifics for how a flag should be displayed, but such regulations aren't punishable by law. Some states, on the other hand, have their own flag laws that often include some type of punishment for desecrating an American flag, which can include wearing it improperly or vandalizing one. But, for 60 million Americans, a third type of "law" or local regulation is factored into the debate of whether or not to display an American flag. This is often a homeowner's association, which has the purpose of making sure property values are kept up and the area is clean. In terms of adding a flag, as seen in the recent issue surrounding veteran Van T. Barfoot's flagpole, this often means getting a pass from your neighborhood's homeowner's association.

In Barfoot's case, his local homeowner's association near Richmond, Virginia, asked him to remove a flagpole displaying an American flag from his yard, as their regulation allows flags only to be displayed from poles connected to the house. While such rules include refusing or modifying other outdoor structures like carports, small buildings, fences, and walls, refusing to allow a flagpole on his property is seen as a display of anti-patriotism, especially considering Barfoot is a Medal of Honor recipient from his achievements in World War II.

While a recent representative, Rep. Eric Cantor, from Virginia has proposed a resolution to allow Medal of Honor recipients like Barfoot to display the flag on their property, this isn't the first time displaying an American flag on one's property has been an issue. In fact, a bill proposed by Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett in 2005 was passed that stated citizens have the right to fly the flag in communities with homeowners associations, as long as the flag is in accordance with the homeowners association's rules. But, while this permits flags to be flown, it allows homeowners associations to resist how one is flown.

If you're debating about adding an American flag to your property but don't know how it should be displayed, the first organization you should contact is your community's homeowners association. If your neighborhood doesn't have one, check the Flag Code and for any state laws and that specify how American flags can be flown on a person's property.