Jimmy DiMora in Context

I'll assume you haven't been in a coma the last few days and are aware of the massive raid on offices and homes in Cuyahoga County, and the public corruption investigation of Cuy. Co. Commissioner and Dem Party Chair Jimmy DiMora, among others.

Right now many shoes must drop before we know the nature of the wrongdoing and the extent of the corruption. In the meantime, this month's Governing magazine (via their blog) has an interesting article on federal investigation and prosecution of state and local corruption. After a set piece about ongoing prosecutions in Alabama, we get to the thesis:

There's no disputing that the feds are going after a lot of state and local officeholders these days. Since 2002, both the number of public corruption cases and the number of FBI agents devoted to such cases has increased by more than 50 percent. But is it because there's been a sudden spike of mischief in office? Or is it more an epidemic of prosecutorial zeal and ambition? Those are not easy questions to answer. But they're increasingly important to ask.

The article goes on to describe the possible partisan dimensions of the spike in prosecutions, some of the squishy Federal laws used and, most importantly, how states reform laws after a prosecution reveals corruption. Worth a read.