Pubdate: Mon, 22 Nov 1999
Date: 11/22/1999
Source: Auburn Journal (CA)
Author: Carol Colburn

Thanks to former police chief Joseph McNamara for explaining in an
essay how the drug war causes police corruption.

However, I am 65 years old and have seen police corruption in the '50s
when I was a child in Butte, Mont. They would jail and take the
paychecks of working men on payday for being drunk. I witnessed police
corruption in New York City when I was a young woman of age 21. When I
went to the police precincts to complain and sign papers against the
offenses, I was laughed at and told to go back to Montana before they
jailed me.

In New York and Chicago I actually enjoyed the benefits of police
corruption when they would take cash instead of write me out a traffic
ticket. It never happened in Los Angeles in those years, at least for
me. I have a clean perfect driving record.

However I did see a lot of money exchange hands among the Los Angeles
police officers working drug busts and prostitution stings and
gambling.  I had girlfriends, airline hostesses, and models, flying
coast to coast with drugs, and they were carrying something they
called a green card. I was approached by both girl friends and
boyfriends, to fly coast to coast protected by a green card and make a
lot of money.  I declined - because I always thought police corruption
was just the worst problem a country could have.

I actually preferred Mafia, whom I met in Las Vegas. They would
usually only kill their own in business, and were very considerate of
the population.

Today I am seeing a lot of drug money corruption among police, judges
and the drug police (DEA) doing drug raids. This is in my hometown of
Auburn.

So once again, I thank Joseph McNamara, and I will always fight for
freedom and the citizens of this great country. Let freedom ring!

Carol Colburn,
Meadow Vista