Friday, April 13, 2007

It took a while, a long, long while apparently, for the city of West Linn to
notice that their former finance director, Elma Magkamit, now serving an
eight-year prison sentence, was stealing big-time from that Portland suburb.
It turns out that she got away with $1.4 million before being stopped and,
according to press reports, West Linn is able to recover only $250,000 of
the total amount she took to feed her gambling addiction and spending on
life-style excesses. I have three matters to discuss regarding this case.
The three related topics initially made me mad and I've simply gotten more
angry the longer I've thought about them: Related topic #1. The city got
about one-sixth of its money back through sale of Ms. Magkamit's ill-gotten
purchases; so, taxpayers there will make up the difference. Meanwhile,
information on the city's status informs us that their bond rating took a
hit and it's believed a police levy was rejected because of Ms. Magkamit's
thievery. What causes me to feel contempt in this instance is that it would
appear Ms. Magkamit was able to do what she did while unsupervised or very
poorly supervised by West Linn public officials. My point here is that
someone, perhaps several high-level city employees, didn't perform their
management responsibilities and should be cell mates with Ms. Magkamit.
Related topic #2. Elma Magkamit's sentence entails eight years in an Oregon
prison. Who will pay for her keep while she's there? You and me, that's who.
Essentially, taxpayers are paying for her taking of tax dollars for her
private use and now for her keep in prison. Her sentence should have
included restitution for the remainder of the money she stole from the city,
the cost of her 8-year incarceration, and a file that would follow her when
she gets out of prison so she will be barred from ever working again for a
public entity at any level. When my emotions reign, I'd like to learn after
her release that she's able only to find work breaking up boulders in a rock
quarry at minimum wage. However, I know that a minimum wage job wouldn't pay
back the money she filched and the cost of her 8-years in the hoosegow.
Related topic #3. Spirit Mountain was the big winner of the $14 million Ms.
Magkamit stole. This Indian-owned casino makes an ongoing effort through
advertising to make itself look good; if we believe its promotional
material, it's a benevolent and responsible citizen. Spirit Mountain's
refusal to give even a dime of the money back to the city of West Linn, when
Spirit Mountain now knows that this money was stolen, is a look inside the
way the people who run that place really think and what their values
represent. The public trust be damned and profit over principle is what it
comes down to with these folks. It's a shameful display of greed and one
that will keep me from patronizing the place again. So, there you have it.
One citizen's reaction to a page from a major state player's game plan in
this sad and sick story where lack of accountability and responsibility
stand tall while the menace of gambling to the welfare of the people who
live in this state are laid out for anyone who takes exception to Ms.
Magkamit's thievery to see and think about. People may rationalize their
willingness to give money to profit a money-mad casino while they won't
support the state's higher education system and a whole host of other public
services. I'll be damned if I'm joining them in this reckless and
irresponsible behavior.