Pubdate: Tue, 02 Jan 2001
Source: New York Post (NY)
Copyright: 2001 N.Y.P. Holdings, Inc.
Contact:  1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036-8790
Feedback: http://nypostonline.com/postopinion/letters/editor.htm
Website: http://nypostonline.com/

ONE LAW FOR THE RICH?

Could it be that NYPD Sgt. Eric Adams and his organization, 100 
Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, are on to something?

Adams plays the New York media like a piano, and his tendency to bite 
the hand that feeds him - the NYPD - can be more than a little 
off-putting.

But now Adams is criticizing Mary Jo White, the U.S. attorney for the 
Southern District, for her refusal to prosecute white-collar buyers 
caught in a huge home-delivery cocaine sting nearly a year ago.

The estimated number of purchasers is said to be between several 
hundred and more than 2,000 - and the head of the New York office of 
the Drug Enforcement Administration has been lobbying hard for 
prosecution.

Court documents reveal a scheme where a bogus livery-cab company took 
phone orders and drove huge amounts of powder cocaine to buyers at 
Wall Street banks, white-shoe law firms and various other upscale 
Manhattan addresses.

While the dealers face long jail terms, the buyers appear to be 
walking off scot-free with letters of reprimand from White's office.

Adams contrasts this outcome with the regular prosecution of 
crack-cocaine purchasers.

The latter are, for the most part, black and Hispanic.

U.S. Attorney White's targets, on the other hand, were almost 
universally white - and the failure of federal officials to prosecute 
them creates a "racially charged double standard," says Adams.

This time, he has a point.

The war on drugs is nothing if not a nuanced undertaking.

But when the law seemingly treats people differently for the same 
basic crime, the result is unnecessary disrespect for the law itself.

Certainly the case at hand gives credence to those intolerant voices 
who see racial discrimination and unfairness lurking in every corner 
and crevice of the criminal justice system.

If Mary Jo White thinks that some people are above the law - for 
whatever reason - then she should say so.
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