Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

VIEWPOINT The FBI, Loaves of Bread, Corruption, and Reform
by Nick Patricca
2023-01-25

This article shared 3214 times since Wed Jan 25, 2023
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email


When I was 13 years old I used to ride shot gun with my uncle A. on his Italian bread truck deliveries. My job was to enter the store with him and remove the old, stale loaves of bread while he carried in the new, fresh loaves of bread. I performed these duties most Saturdays and school holidays to earn a few dollars to assist the family budget.

Most deliveries were normal transactions except for a few "special stops" when I had to deliver a large hollowed out Sicilian loaf of bread so that the store keeper could stuff it with numbers slips. When that particular store had a "hit" my hollowed out loaf of bread had cash inside to pay off the winner.

My uncle A. was a small time bookie.

At various times during these "special stops," I witnessed my uncle bribing City of Pittsburgh police who were there waiting for him. One Saturday, I decided to discuss these bribes with him. His response to my questioning was, "Everyone is on the take. It's the way of the world."

I naively replied "not the FBI."

The following Saturday, my uncle took me to the Spigno-Saturnia Society Club in the Larimer Avenue area in East Liberty for lunch. While we were eating, two men in suits came to our table. My uncle asked them to show me their ID's. They were FBI. I was impressed. Then, my uncle handed them envelopes stuffed with cash.

That was my first FBI lesson.

My second FBI lesson happened when I was teaching theology at Loyola University Chicago. I had several FBI agents in my graduate classes. Two of the agents came to me to discuss some moral dilemmas they were suffering: They were either witnessing or participating in the manufacturing and planting of evidence against Catholic nuns and priests who were protesting the Vietnam War.

We had long difficult discussions on how to handle these situations. They were honest, competent men caught up in a corrupt system.

Today, there is a large chorus of calls for reforming the FBI—several for abolishing the FBI—because of its incompetence, its partisan political actions, its corruption. These calls come from the full spectrum of contemporary U.S. politics: right, left, center, Republican, Democrat, Independent.

Let's examine some of the reasons for these calls for reformation or abolishment.

Beginning in June of 2018 and continuing through August of 2021, the Inspector General of the Department of Justice issued several reports on the conduct of the FBI in its investigations of politicians and political campaigns in the 2016 elections.These reports document a long list of failings on the part of the FBI regarding procedures, regulations, and laws.

These failings did not break in favor of one party or another, but encompassed all of the FBI investigations—whether of Hillary Clinton's emails, or of the ties of Donald Trump's campaign to foreign agencies such as actors for the Russian State, or of the relationships of federal agents to social and other media. Among the many instances of improper procedures, the reports cite two cases of special interest: that of former FBI Director James Comey in regard to the Hillary Clinton emails, and that of former Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr in regard to foreign actors in the Trump campaign.

In the first case, it is alleged that Comey decided to bypass his superiors for fear that either President Barack Obama or Attorney General Loretta Lynch would interfere with his decision to re-open the investigation of Clinton emails—a decision made two weeks before the presidential election with possible effects on that election. In the second case, it is alleged that Ohr decided to bypass his superior Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates in the Trump Administration for the same reason—possible political interference.

Whether Comey and Ohr were right or wrong, their concerns were entirely valid. History shows clearly and abundantly how politics influences and often controls the work of the FBI.

J. Edgar Hoover used the FBI to investigate, harass, and hunt down anyone he judged to be a threat to his idea of "America." In the '70s, US Senator Frank Church initiated an investigation of the FBI, the CIA and other federal agencies focusing on their illegal surveillance of U.S. citizens and of their systematic programs of actions against persons and groups they judged hostile to US interests.

The Church committee brought about significant reform of the FBI, putting into place procedures and policies designed to protect citizens and prevent the political weaponizing of federal police powers. It is an open question as to how well these reforms have worked.

From its beginnings, the FBI has been a federal political police force. The FBI was instituted after the assassination of President William McKinley, September 1901, to hunt down and eliminate "anarchists.'' Among the original targets of the Bureau were Mexican-U.S. citizens working to overthrow the tyrannical dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz, president for life of Mexico. The FBI shut down newspapers, arrested people on both sides of the US-Mexico border, surveilled and interfered with first class mail, and, in some cases, cooperated with the killing of opponents of Díaz ... all in the name of protecting U.S. property in Mexico and the "American" way of life in the USA.

In January, the Republican-controlled House of the U.S. Congress initiated an investigation of the FBI. This investigation is an opportunity for the Republican party to demonstrate that, like the Church committee, it is interested in governing in the best interests of the American people in a bipartisan manner—anything other than this course of action prolongs the dysfunction in Washington and the necessary reform of the FBI.

Without the trust of the American people, the FBI cannot do its job. Without this trust, our next presidential election will generate even more suspicion of—and hostility to—federal authority, further damaging the democratic values of our republic.

2023 © nicholas.patricca@gmail.com

Nick Patricca is professor emeritus at Loyola University Chicago; president of Chicago Network JP; member, Writers in Prison, San Miguel PEN; member, TOSOS Theatre Ensemble, NYC.


This article shared 3214 times since Wed Jan 25, 2023
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council sets a new course
2024-03-18
Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council held its first meeting of the calendar year on Feb. 28 at City Hall in the Loop under the leadership of the recently appointed chair Jin-Soo Huh. The LGBTQ+ Advisory Council is ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Missouri measure, HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, judge, Texas schools
2024-03-15
In Missouri, a newly proposed law could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they're found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning, CNN noted. ...


Gay News

PASSAGES: Former Chicago Commission on Human Relations chair Clarence Wood
2024-03-13
LGBTQ ally and former Chicago Commission on Human Relations (CCHR) Chair and Commissioner Clarence N. Wood died March 5. He was 83. Wood was born April 14, 1940, in Alabama. While primarily raised in Alabama, Wood ...


Gay News

Longtime LGBTQ+-rights activist David Mixner dies at 77
2024-03-12
On March 11, longtime LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS activist David Mixner—known for working on Bill Clinton's presidential campaign but then splitting from him over "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT)—died at age 77, The Advocate reported. ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ Victory Fund remembers co-founder David Mixner
2024-03-12
--From a press release - Today, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund President & CEO Mayor Annise Parker released the following statement on the passing of LGBTQ+ civil rights activist and LGBTQ+ Victory Fund co-founder David Mixner: "Today, we lost David Mixner, a founding ...


Gay News

Florida settles 'Don't Say Gay' lawsuit
2024-03-11
On March 11, the state of Florida settled a multi-year lawsuit against the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law, which limits how LGBTQ+ topics can be discussed and presented in schools, The Hill reported. The settlement agreement ...


Gay News

ELECTIONS 2024 Precious Brady-Davis says climate change is top issue as she runs to finish appointed MWRD term
2024-03-08
Precious Brady-Davis, commissioner for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), is one of several candidates running to fill three seats on the board in the March 19 election. Brady-Davis was appointed to the role last summer ...


Gay News

ELECTIONS 2024 MWRD's Marcelino Garcia discusses flooding, land use and LGBTQ+ inclusion
2024-03-08
Marcelina Garcia, commissioner for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), is one of several candidates in the running to fill three seats on the board in the March 19 election. Garcia, who chair's the MWRD's Finance ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Altercation, mpox research, Univ. of Fla., George Santos, tech battle
2024-03-08
Video footage uploaded to Facebook showed an altercation between a state trooper and two prominent Philadelphia LGBTQ+ leaders, the Washington Blade reported, republishing an article from Philadelphia Gay News. Celena ...


Gay News

LPAC celebrates historic wins for LGBTQ+ candidates in Super Tuesday primaries
2024-03-06
From a press release: Washington, DC—Today, LPAC,the nation's leading organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary candidates to public office, proudly announces the outstanding victories of 67% of endorsed candidates ...


Gay News

Illinois's first openly gay elected official voices support for Cunningham
2024-03-05
Judge Thomas Chiola, who served in the Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County from 1994-2009, has officially endorsed Justice Joy Cunningham for reelection to the Illinois Supreme Court. Chiola is the first gay man to be ...


Gay News

Sinema retiring from the U.S. Senate
2024-03-05
Kyrsten Sinema—the bisexual U.S. senator from Arizona who recently switched from being a Democrat to an independent—announced that she will not run for re-election this year, ...


Gay News

WORLD Canadian politics, Australian murders, Finnish study, 'Anatomy'
2024-03-01
Canadian conservatives are divided over an anti-trans policy that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith handed down in her province, The Guardian reported. The policy includes a ban on hormonal treatment, puberty ...


Gay News

Ghana parliament passes harsh anti-LGBTQ+ bill
2024-02-29
On Feb. 28, Ghana's parliament unanimously passed a controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill that has been condemned globally. The so-called Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Act, which was introduced in the parliament in 2021, not only criminalizes ...


Gay News

Anti-LGBTQ+ Republican McConnell to step down from leading U.S. Senate
2024-02-29
U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) will step down from Senate leadership in November, having served in that capacity longer than any senator in history, The Advocate noted. McConnell has been a senator since 1985 and has ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.