Ron Gonzales, Another Politician Accused of Fraud

It seems that politicians getting caught with their "hands in the cookie jar" is becoming a huge problem. To add to the growing list, the Associated Press is reporting:

Mayor Ron Gonzales was booked on fraud, bribery and conspiracy charges Thursday following a grand jury probe into a secretly negotiated garbage contract that cost taxpayers more than $11 million.

Gonzales was released on a $50,000 bond after being indicted on six counts. He denied any wrongdoing and rejected calls to step down.

"At this point, Mayor Gonzales is committed to completing his term," deputy chief of staff Deborah Herron said.

Here is the report from the Associated Press, courtesy of Yahoo News.

Although Mayor Gonzales claims he received no personal benefit from this deal - a prudent person is going to wonder what his true motivation was? This deal was designed to benefit a "few" at the cost of "many."

Mayor Gonzales may join other notable public figures, such as Congressman Jefferson, Randy "Duke" Cunningham and Tom Delay in what is becoming an "exclusive" club of former political figures being accused, or convicted of fraud.

This is a sad commentary on the state of politics today.

In fact, the problem seems to be so bad that the FBI recently added a page, where the public can report fraud in government. Sadly enough - with the amount of scandals surfacing - it is probably a prudent move on their part.

Here is a previous post, I wrote on that with a link to the page:

FBI Site to Report Corrupt Civil Servants

Here is another post, I wrote on the recent scandal involving Congressman Jefferson:

Is the Latest Congressional Scandal a Nigerian Fraud