White Collar Crimes Go Unpunished

...except maybe for the humiliation and embarrassment.
But that was self-imposed because of their nefarious deeds.

We're talking about British Columbia's legislature scandal which Speaker Darryl Plecas exposed.
A disgusting and criminal (we think) twosome of senior officials in the Victoria legislature who both benefitted from unnecessary and unsanctioned expense account claims and unnecessary trips on the public purse.

Craig James and Gary Lenz are both proven by Speaker Plecas to have profited.
But in a strange twist, it was reported that Sergeant-at-Arms Gary Lenz did not violate the terms of his employment, although he remains suspended with pay.

It was reported that Craig James "abruptly retired Thursday following the release of a report supporting allegations of misconduct against him".  In addition, James himself approved a 2012 retirement benefit that awarded him $257,988 during that year.  But he didn't retire in 2012.

The Province newspaper headline was "Ex-legislature clerk can retire without returning money".

So...what do we teach our children about this?

Obviously nothing.
We teach them wrong from right, decency versus immoral acts.
And then the Legislature scandal comes along.

Greg James and Gary Lenz should be in prison...and sued by the public.

And there's more.

Money-laundering is making the news nightly, and in particular how prevalent it has been (and perhaps still is) relating to the RiverRock Casino in Richmond, with ties to real estate and luxury cars.

And no-one could be happier than Ross Alderson, the former director of anti-money laundering investigations for the B.C. Lottery Corp.  He's apparently "pleased a public inquiry has been called, and he's anxious to testify, as he 'had a front-row seat,' the whistleblower added.

That is good news, but maybe not for the B.C. Liberals, who turned numerous blind eyes away from what was readily apparent to even a 10 year old.

What is heartening is that both Ross Alderson and Speaker Darryl Plecas are former RCMP officers, obviously both dedicated to law and order.  And they are to be congratulated.

I bet both Plecas and Alderson are disgusted that white collar criminals generally don't spend much time -- if any -- in jail.

So is British Columbia chock full of white collar criminals?
It appears they have made the province their homebase.