On March 19, 2003, a federal court convicted Ganim of 16 counts of criminal misconduct, including racketeering, extortion, bribery, tax evasion and mail fraud.
Federal Judge, Janet Bond Arterton sentenced the former mayor to nine years in prison for “systematically using his office to enrich himself.” Since his sentence was under ten years, Ganim, who undoubtedly would have been torn to shreds in a real prison, was able to serve out his ‘punishment’ in a federal camp, where conditions are far less restrictive than an actual prison.
After serving only seven of the nine years of his sentence, Ganim was signed out of the Watkinson Halfway House in Hartford for the final time on July 19, 2010.
For the next several years, this political criminal would strive to regain his law license and even have local attorneys recommend him to be readmitted to the bar. However, for the time being, his license was not reinstated and clearer heads prevailed.
Until now.
On Tuesday, December 1, 2015, after being reelected in a landslide vote, Joe Ganim was sworn into the office of the mayor – for the second time. Only now, this pillar of society is a convicted felon.
In the Land of the Free, a 17-year-old kid can get caught with an arbitrary amount of an illegal plant and get sentenced to life in prison. If that kid is lucky enough only to spend a few years in prison, the chances of him getting a decent job are slim to none because of the felony conviction check.
However, if you are a well-connected wealthy politician, you can get caught stealing from the people you represent, get convicted, avoid real jail, avoid serving your entire sentence, and get re-elected by the very simpletons you once stole.
The kid arrested for marijuana, who had zero victims, is banned from voting for the rest of his life, while the man who looted from hundreds of thousands of people, gets voted into office!
This case epitomizes the problem with American politics – and the blind citizens who act as fuel for this corrupt and murderous machine.
As Southpark pointed out in their classic 2004 season, Americans only have the illusion of choice when it comes to electing your rulers. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the election is between a Giant Douche and a Turd Sandwich.
