Felonious formula: Greed, hubris and no shame

In my Sunday Sun column, I once again ask the question: Given our long history of politicians and corporate executives being nailed on state and federal corruption charges, why does it keep happening? This years marks 50 years since the Watergate scandal. It’s also the 50th anniversary of Maryland’s biggest political corruption year — the state had a national reputation for it when I arrived in Baltimore in the mid-1970s — and yet the mighty keep falling. The latest: New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

On Saturday, a Baltimore attorney submitted these comments on my column: I have reached this entirely unscientific and anecdotal conclusion: It is greed plus a fat dollop of hubris. These guys really believe that they are smarter than everyone around them, and especially prosecutors. Their early success, lubricated by a little legal sleight-of-hand, instills in them the belief that, with even greater success and resources — money, lawyers, time and an easily distracted public — they can get away with even greater chicanery. This is abetted by the hangers-on, sycophants and galmourazzi they attract. When anyone tells them, “No”, or “Enough” (lawyers, close friends, allies) they simply replace them with those they perceive to be more loyal, though even those folks will often later turn on them.

I found these comments interesting, and not just because they bring Trump to mind. I note in the attorney’s letter the lack of two words I use in my column: Shame and shamelessness. So, greed, a fat dollop of hubris and no shame — the formula for felonies.

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