Corruption: Tell the FBI | jacksonville.com

Corruption: Tell the FBI | jacksonville.com

Posted: February 23, 2011 - 12:00am
Contact the FBI

- FBI Jacksonville Public Corruption Tip Line: 1-888-722-1225

- Via e-mail: jacksonville@ic.fbi.gov. Place "Public Corruption Tip" in the subject line.

- For more on corruption the FBI is looking for, visit http://jacksonville.fbi.gov/priorities.htm

City Ethics Hotline

- (904) 630-1015

Corruption in government is a cancer for taxpayers that poisons the system for everyone.
That's a big reason why it's important to make it easy for the public to report it to authorities in a position to combat it.
The Jacksonville division of the FBI has launched a new corruption tip line that encourages people to report bribes, kickbacks or other illegal activities that involve people who use their public offices for personal gain.
And it doesn't matter if those officials are elected, appointed or under contract to do work for the government.
It's the law
The FBI notes it is a violation of federal law for officials at any level of government to ask for or receive anything of value in exchange for - or because of - any official act.
But those secretive deals are often hard to detect and even more challenging to prove without the help of people who can alert authorities.
The FBI says contract fraud surrounding the federal stimulus money is of particular concern.
About half of the estimated $9.4 billion in contracts awarded in the state fall within the Jacksonville FBI Division's North Florida territory.
A city ethics hotline already exists for people to report problems or concerns with city government that can include misuse of public resources, concerns about accepting gifts, conflicts of interest in contracting and other issues.
City Ethics Officer Carla Miller says she fields about a call a day on the hotline, with many of those involving city workers or other officials seeking ethics advice.
Depending on the nature of the call, the matter can be referred to the city Ethics Commission for possible action or to the state attorney or federal authorities. The city ethics system can help diffuse problems before they reach the FBI's level of concern.
Strangely, some public officials think ethics should be self-policing, an attitude they don't take with other crimes.
Yet, there are more than enough examples of corruption among public officials.
The biggest city scandal in recent years involves allegations of bribery, conspiracy, mail fraud, money laundering and lying to the FBI regarding the port and its former chairman Tony Nelson.
Nelson has pleaded innocent to the 44 counts against him.
State law on tap
Good legislation pending in the state Legislature includes expanding the city hotline to cover the Duval County school system, JEA, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, the Jacksonville Aviation Authority and the Jacksonville Port Authority.
Corruption in government shouldn't be tolerated.
If you have information about something illegal that's going on, give the authorities a call.

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/opinion/editorials/2011-02-23/story/corruption-tell-fbi#ixzz1EqFVaf2T