back to article Former US state agency CIO, IT exec plead guilty to bribery and extortion scheme

A former Maryland Cabinet-level official and a former IT executive have pleaded guilty to involvement in a bribery and extortion scheme related to technology contracts about a decade ago. According to the US Attorney's Office of the State of Maryland, Isabel FitzGerald, 52, of Annapolis, Maryland, and Kenneth Coffland, 67, of …

  1. Claverhouse
    Unhappy

    Americans Are Big On Sentencing

    All reprehensible no doubt --- though I'm not seeing much extortion: more like jobs for the boys, which thankfully we don't get a lot of in the Britannic Isles --- and the profits realised aren't that impressive considering the average millions and billions [ new style ] generally flung about in the Reg's pages, but really, 10 years and 20 years are more sentences for manslaughter and murder than petty fraud.

    1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: Americans Are Big On Sentencing

      Those are maximum terms for the offences, not necessarily what the court will hand out.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Americans Are Big On Sentencing

        and if they can pay a fine/bribe, it's likely they will see little to no time in jail. I fathom that FB owner spent millions and millions on fines/fees/bribes when brought to court, and never spent a day in jail.

        It depends on your 'status', wealth, and current politics as to how people are supposedly punished for crimes.

        The crime itself is of little to no meaning, it's about profit.

  2. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

    Meanwhile, in your own backyard and not a million miles away ....

    Regarding postmodern ransonmware/bribery and extortion schemes .... what is to be done and will there be any jail time price for the latest, current running Northern Ireland scam that has any Tom, Dick or Harry or Shiela able to stand for election to server governance in public high office departments via the Stormont Legislative Assembly vessel/vassal ...... sign on a register for commencement/continuance of all manner of benefits payments and ancillary perks and services to be rendered ...... and then to be immediately held to ransom by a christian fundamentalist group within the elected Stormont Legislative Assembly choosing to withdraw their participation in local national government until an international European Union body gives them what they want?

    And as a minor party within a considerably larger United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Parliamentary group, what is one to make of Westminster's highly apparent inaction and wholly inappropriate acceptance of the matter supporting the aberration.

    Thoughts of the Troubles resulting from political impotence and arrogance and intransigence spawning revolutionary subversion spring easily to mind and to the fore in such preposterous situations and who would say such is not richly deserved and fully to be expected .... only natural?

    It all stinks a lot like fascism, such unilateralism, and that does not bode well for democratic unionist parties.

  3. Joe W Silver badge

    What about the company's execs that hired him?

    Those did play an active part. They had "reservations" about the whole thing, they say now, but rather than raising any flags (police, compliance officers at the company, compliance at the state) they continued through with that. At least any underlings who tried anything like that would be fired... oh, I see the problem.

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