Former Minneapolis Council person Dean Zimmerman has become the third member of that august body sentenced to hard time for taking bribes in recent years.
He's getting 2½ years in federal prison. A relatively lax sentence. Federal prosecutors argued for more, given this egregious violation of public trust, but the judge disagreed.
Interestingly, bribe taking isn't the only crime Zimmerman is guilty of. Buried in the story is this little factoid:
Noting that a presentence investigation found Zimmermann smoked marijuana a couple of times a week since the 1960s and drank beer daily, the judge suggested he participate in a drug treatment program that could cut seven months off the sentence.
It's too bad he wasn't smoking crack too, he might have been let go with time served.
But it is a lesson to be learned for all the children of Minneapolis. If you're going to use your public office for personal enrichment, make sure you're also regularly blazing up.
BTW, local media this is kind of an interesting story. A Minneapolis council person brazenly flouting the law by purchasing and using drugs throughout his term in office. Who did he get his drugs from? Did his colleagues ever suspect anything? Are they willing to submit to drug testing themselves? Was Zimmerman baked when he voted for the smoking ban? This is how you sell newspapers, people.
UPDATE: For more on this story, the Nihilist in Golf Pants.
No comments:
Post a Comment