Democracy In Albany

Frankly, in retrospect, that is small beer compared to the outrageous revelations last week by our reporter Brendan J. Lyons that a number of private citizens with connections also got scads of free parking for years if they were on a VIP list kept by police department higher-ups.

The reason I say that the latest pool of freebie parking tickets is more galling than the bull's-eye business is that now the stench of old-line who-you-know politics seems to be involved. With the bullseyes, the abuses were exclusively by a few cops that spilled over into family and friends. It was a blue line thing. The bullseye system started as a way for cops on legitimate business, especially around the courthouse, to avoid parking tickets. The abuses that followed are not excusable, but at least understandable, and most cops were not involved.

But there is simply no justifying those on the VIP list who are not cops or other civil servants on city business. It's worth noting that the rank-and-file Albany cop or union member had nothing to do with the VIP list. This is a different deal.

The private citizens who got thousands of free tickets had to be put on the list by some ranking official. Lyons found out about the VIP list and all these no-fee tickets through a Freedom of Information request, so he had to go digging for them.

Knowing there was a VIP list generates questions that still need answers.

How do we know, for example, that the list the city gave Lyons is complete? Rumors persist that there are more names of civilians who got freebies that we haven't yet seen. I'm not saying it's true or not, but the city has opened itself up to a major credibility issue here over the extent of all of this.

Talk to the lawyer.

When facing a subpoena to testify in a court of law, individuals issuing false statement under oath or affirmation face perjury penalty charges and crimes. Many individuals highly underestimate the potential damage a perjury conviction can bring to themselves and others. In fact, according to Federal prosecutors in 2008, the perjury penalty for convicted persons is up to five years in prison. State and local court cases also offer similarly staunch penalties for those attempting to subvert the sanctity of the courts.