It was only a crime if you didn’t get caught. Because if you got caught stealing from the taxpayers in Montgomery County- you could just resign and pay the money back. Do bank robbers get the same option? How about the “mugger” who robbed my tenant last week? We already know that CEOs like Mike Peppel formerly of MCSi don’t do jail time, or even be forced to pay back the millions he stole from his employees, customers and investors.

Justice is for sale. Justice is arbitrary. Justice is optional if you are connected. Justice is anything but blind.

From today’s Dayton Daily news- who is gloating over the fact that actually exposed something and got the policy (which was illegal) changed.

MCJFS officials in December 2011 allowed Jennifer King pay the county about $5,700 and resign after JFS officials said she inflated two years worth of mileage reimbursements. In return, the county agreed to offer a neutral reference in her personnel file and not to seek prosecution against her.

Officials with the prosecutor’s office, which serves as the legal representative for most county agencies, weren’t aware of the deal until the Daily News asked them about it. Acting on a tip from a reader, the Daily News uncovered the agreement through a public records request.

In an interview last month, Montgomery County JFS Director Gayle Bullard said the deal was struck because it allowed for taxpayers to get money back while avoiding the risk that an independent arbitrator might reinstate King’s county job were she to appeal being fired.

via County changes handling of employees suspected of crimes | www.daytondailynews.com.

Charges should also be filed against JFS Director Bullard, who knew about the crime and didn’t turn it over to the prosecutors. An investigation should also be conducted to find out who else has been given the opportunity to resign and be promised “neutral references” despite violating the most basic tenant of public service- violating the public’s trust.

The prosecutors office should be investigated as well, for their lack of oversight on other issues over the years- like the county administrators family profiting wildly on the deal for the Sears property downtown that became Riverscape. The Feldmans cleared close to $2 million dollars on what started out as a $200K investment.

We’ve seen lax oversight in the Board of Elections- hiring a family member who was a convicted rapist, awarding a government welfare program to Reverend Trammell who had served time on a felony for welfare fraud, and also the rampant nepotism that’s in play at the county building.

No where else but Montgomery County is a public office building run like Melrose Place.

This “policy change” is a joke- the law stated what the policy was. Our elected leadership, the County Commission, the Sheriff and the Prosecutor all should be held accountable for this, as should the former County Administrator on whose watch this happened.

The example has been set- it’s ok to steal, as long as when you get caught, all you have to do is offer to payback what you stole.

This is why it’s time to dismantle our local political parties who are part and parcel to keeping these incompetent criminals in office.