EDITORIAL: Successor should follow Capp's NWI justice model
NWI Times
March 15, 2017
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/editorial-successor-should-follow-capp-s-nwi-justice-model/article_6a9d29d2-56d0-57da-a02c-a84f27fcae9b.html
Politics may be affecting change at the helm of the Hammond-based U.S. attorney's office, but it shouldn't end a strong justice model maintained by the outgoing leader.
U.S. Attorney David Capp, a prosecutor in the office for 31 years and the office's leader for the past eight, announced his resignation last week.
He did so at the behest of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the expected changing of the justice guard under new President Donald Trump.
It's normal for a new administration to appoint its own people to the ranks of U.S. Attorney and other government offices.
In reality, Capp had planned on stepping down later this year anyhow.
We also appreciate Trump's pledge to beef up the ranks of law enforcement and believe our local U.S. Attorney's office should receive all possible resources to continue a noble fight spearheaded by leaders including Capp.
Capp leaves a stalwart, no-nonsense model of hunting down and vanquishing both Northwest Indiana political corruption and violent street gangs that should be followed by his successor.
In his three decades either prosecuting criminals or leading the Hammond-based U.S. attorney's office, Capp has been party to dozens of cases involving public corruption.
The office has secured more than 60 convictions of government leaders or their politically connected contractors, largely for crimes against taxpayers, since the 1980s.
In recent years, under Capp's direct leadership, those convictions have included East Chicago political powerbroker Robert Cantrell, former Lake County clerk and coroner Thomas Philpot, former Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist, former East Chicago Mayor George Pabey and former Lake County Surveyor George Van Til.
Still other officials, including Lake County Sheriff John Buncich, Portage Mayor James Snyder and former Calumet Township Trustee Mary Elgin face future felony trials in alleged and unrelated public corruption schemes.
These cases were all crafted under Capp's eye for justice.
Like leading federal prosecutors before him, Capp was very familiar with the pattern of corruption and self enrichment that has plagued our Region's political process for decades.
He also has presided over the prosecutions — nearly all of which have led to convictions — of dozens of street gang members in various sweeping indictments.
Convictions in that category have included the imprisonment of Region gang kingpins and rank-and-file members for murder, racketeering, drug-dealing and conspiracy charges, making our cities and towns safer.
Capp leaves behind a commendable legacy of aggressively targeting some of our Region's most glaring shortcomings.
We thank Capp for his years of dedicated and highly effective service.
Whoever the Trump administration selects to replace Capp would do well to follow the tenets of his success.
No comments:
Post a Comment