Freedom to DISAGREE

[BullNBear52]

Who's the idiot who writes the editorial page?

Taricani and Bevilacqua

01:00 AM EST on Friday, December 3, 2004



It appears that Chief U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres, through a special prosecutor who cost taxpayers more than $100,000, has found out who supplied the videotape to TV reporter Jim Taricani that caught government corruption in action. Mr. Taricani, meanwhile, faces the prospect of jail for protecting a source: lawyer Joseph Bevilacqua Jr., who now asserts (improbably, it seems to us) that he wanted the reporter to identify him more than 2 1/2 years ago. Mr. Bevilacqua faces his own legal problems, which may far exceed Mr. Taricani's.

The court has made it clear that its wishes will be obeyed -- or else. At the time that the tape was aired -- showing former Mayor Vincent Cianci's right-hand man, Frank Corrente, taking a $1,000 bribe -- the tape was under a protective order from U.S. District Judge Ronald Lagueux, who feared that a jury might be prejudiced if the public were allowed to see so vividly what was going on in Providence government.

And so Judge Torres, with Ahab-like tenacity, has hunted down his white whale: the person who passed along the tape.

There are no heroes here, in our view. Judges' orders are supposed to be obeyed. But the price of this crusade seems out of scale with its public benefit.

Mr. Taricani, although having displayed a lack of wisdom in some aspects of this case, is hardly a dangerous criminal who deserves time in jail.

And the taxpayer money and other resources spent on this case could more profitably have been spent on other government activities -- such as prosecuting criminals who pose a threat to the public, rather than tormenting a reporter with heart problems who asserts that he was trying to keep a promise to protect the identity of a source.

This case also points to judicial overzealousness in sealing off important public information. Judge Lagueux had prohibited all members of the prosecution and defense from disclosing any of the FBI audio or video recordings. But as even Judge Torres ruled, airing the tape did not have the feared effect of denying the defendants a fair trial. And how about the right of the public to see what is going on in its own government -- especially since the Cianci regime was still in power when the videotape was aired?

The case raises questions about Judge Torres's temperament. Justice should be tempered with a sense of proportion, moderation and, in some cases, mercy. Surely, the overall benefit to the public should be weighed.

The judge's actions in this episode have drawn some national condemnation and, yes, some praise, too (which will probably increase after this week's revelations about Messrs. Taricani and Bevilacqua). In any event, we fear that Mr. Torres's actions may slow the flow of important public information, making it still harder for citizens to discover -- and thus stop -- government corruption.

For now, we can only hope that Judge Torres shows some mercy in sentencing Mr. Taricani.


http://www.projo.com/opinion/editorials/content/projo_20041203_03torres.19c08b.html