Letter to Ethics Commission



Students cannot remember remember the first commandment.

February 16, 2013

Rhonda Victor Sibilia, Community Outreach Coordinator
Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics & Public Trust

Subject: Who investigates the Miami Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust?
 
Ms. Sibilia:
 
Greetings!

During my investigation of moral and criminal corruption in the City of Miami Beach, I encountered several references to the COE that might lead someone unfamiliar with its processes to believe that it is has failed to achieved its objectives in regards to public trust in Miami Beach government.
 
I believe the COE is hobbled by the county ordinances it is bound to observe, rendering it a somewhat useful but a rather ineffective tool for battling corruption. I am not completely satisficed with its triage services, whereby staff investigators go over information and refer it to other agencies such as the State Attorney Office if they believe a reference is warranted. That could be and is advertised as an important service, given the nature of the State Attorney Office. Yet I wonder at what has not been referred to prosecutors, and about the close relationship between the State Attorney Office, which some Miami Beach residents are displeased with, and COE staff, especially when staff have been previously employed by that office for a long time. As for education, I wonder how the difference between right and wrong can be inculcated in a memorable way in students who cannot remember but three of the ten commandments of the Decalogue, nor in most instances remember the first one, thinking it is "Thou shalt not kill." And psychological studies indicate that about 90% of what people learn in school will be forgotten; I suppose that would include modern ethics principles. Actual enforcement of the law might be the better teacher.
 
Not that I do not appreciate the real accomplishments of the COE, and I am not intimate with the restraints staff must operate under, so I apologize for calling the COE a "money hole." Still, I think someone far more competent and well informed than myself, perhaps an inspector general, should closely examine the performance of COE staff, particularly in regards to investigations of alleged unethical behavior of Miami Beach city officials.
 
Please advise me to whom people may state their concerns with that in mind.
 
Very truly yours,

David Arthur Walters

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