Smooth Criminal

Hm, it's been a little while, hasn't it?

I'm hoping to get a more regular update schedule going, and we might as well start it off by discussing some local news: Mayor Larry O'Brien is not a crook!

Or so he says. And Justice Douglas Cunningham apparently agrees, given his dismissal of the bribery charges leveled against O'Brien in relation to offers made by our councilor-in-chief to one Terry Kilrea, which may have concerned something to do with a post that might have been on the parole board. Possibly in exchange for Kilrea's dropping out of the race. And maybe some money too, either by way of cheque or a wad of bills slipped coyly into Kilrea's quarter open shirt...

*ahem* Anyway, even though I couldn't resist titling this post as I did, it's not really a fair to label O'brien as such for two reasons:

Firstly, in the eyes of the law he is not a criminal, and I don't presume to credit my own personal distrust of O'Briens Lex Luthor-esque appearance over a well considered legal ruling.

Secondly, even if a crime took place, by no means can it be described as having been 'smooth'. It's like robbing a bank and sliding away on a banana peel so quickly that the cops can't ID you; the main reason O'Brien got off was that the content of the meetings weren't corroborated by any independent sources and all the ancillary testimony(concerning things O'Brien may have said to others concerning a job for Kilrea) was confused and unreliable.

There are some interesting questions about the nature of bribery percolating at the core of all this: O'Brien defense, in an early motion for a direct verdict which would have sidestepped all this trial business, insisted that the law was designed to prevent cash incentives from being offered for political advantage, not political offices in and of themselves. The judge rejected this rather narrow concept of 'bribery' and I'd have to agree, especially in light of the fact that most political offices guarantee a salary and thus can be construed as carrying a financial value.

And so concludes the all time high point of my interest in municipal politics. We'll finish with a quote from O'Brien concerning the speed of his campaign and election, offered up to explain his hazy recollection of some of the finer details of his meetings with Kilrea.


"I fell asleep on my boat in July drinking a beer and when I woke up I was the mayor of Ottawa. That's how fast it went."

Imagine what he might have woke up as if he'd actually had a proper sleep in his own bed.