Crony capitalism at it's best? And, as always, who pays for it?
“The trial was the latest in a series of dustups between City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, who prosecuted the case, and Mayor Bob Filner, who called it a “nonsense prosecution” that came in response to complaints from Bank of America.”
As a former prosecutor myself, I would say a “City Attorney” is not real prosecutor. I would expect my deputy prosecutors would have a lot more significant cases to pursue than this.
We have a large, outdoor music ampitheater in our jurisdiction with a large grass/lawn seating area. One year, they booked a rowdy death metal concert, and the attendees tore up the sod in the lawn area and threw it at each other. The following year they booked the same concert, and this time staked down huge canvas tarps over the lawn area. This time, the attendees ripped up the tarps to get to the sod so they could tear it up and throw it at each other. The amphitheater staff had the off-duty cops/security guys arrest a bunch of the attendees, but certainly in no way all of the ones who tore up the sod. I refused to file charges and had them all released. My office was not there to guarantee a profit for the management when they knew full well who they were inviting into their house. My action deterred them from booking the act again, which is really a much better outcome for the community and all involved.