This New England

The rise and fall of investment mogul Bernard Madoff, and his destruction of many private fortunes of gullible clients, make a good case for the return of the stodgy old bank trust officer, who would tend to steer people away from investment geniuses who were unwilling or unable to explain how they could offer such seemingly implausible returns as did Mr. Madoff.

And bring back some of the banks' old internal-compliance officers, fired because they weren't so great at "new product and market development.'' That is, they weren't great salesmen.

The investment business will need a lot of new, well, trust to regain the customers it has lost the past year.

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That Vermont has launched a new Web site that lets you look up the criminal convictions of anyone who has committed a crime in the state since the 1940s is heartening -- and creepy.

it's heartening because this information could be very useful in protecting ourselves from someone who might have shown a propensity for crime. But it's also creepy in that it expands the surveillance society and makes it more difficult to get a fresh start.

Perhaps that it costs $20 a query to get into the Vermont Criminal Information Center will make a less of a mass medium than we Orwell fans might fear. And, hey, it is all technically public record.

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Former Mashpee Wampanoag chairman Glenn Marshall, a pal of Washington crook Jack Abramoff, will plead guilty to violating campaign-finance laws, the U.S. attorney's office in Boston says.

Marshall had wanted a big casino for the tribe, but the scandal around him and that casinos aren't doing all that well these days, will probably help put a damper on this species of economic development for a while in New England.

The counts against him include making illegal campaign contributions to members of Congress, embezzling tribal funds, filing false tax returns and fraudulently receiving Social Security disability benefits. Among other items on his CV was that he was a convicted rapist and had lied about his military record. (Great reporting on this in CapeCodToday, by the way.)

Isn't it interesting how much stuff you can have in your past and yet rise to a pretty good job, even in the age of no-privacy cited above?

Meanwhile, the tribe will keep looking for a place to put a casino, and the cash-strapped state might well give it to them.

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In other rogue news: Former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, sent to prison for corruption, says that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who if not yet proven a criminal, is a sleaze of memorable proportions, should step down immediately.

Rowland noted that arrogance and a sense of entitlement lead to the likes of him and the Illinois governor.

What a waste in Rowland's case: He was a very able politician, who had some fine plans for the state, with its strange mix of rich suburbs, countryside and some of America's worst cities. (He was a savior of the University of Connecticut.)

As it turned out, the mini-Chicago impulses of sometimes seamy Waterbury, Rowland's home town, won out over the more typical "Land of Steady Habits'' style of the state.

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Bad joke circulating: The Iraqi journalist who threw the shoes at President Bush should retain a "white-shoe law firm.''

 Tags  bank trust officers Bernard Madoff Cape Cod Today Glenn Marshall John Rowland Vermont criminals

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