American Notes NEW YORK

The corruption scandals that have rocked New York City for the past two years spread through the rest of the Empire State last week. As the result of a wide-ranging FBI sting operation, 44 current and former municipal officials and twelve private contractors were charged with accepting bribes and graft in 40 towns from Great Neck on Long Island to Malone near the Canadian border. Ten officials in New Jersey were also indicted.

The sting began in October 1985 with an FBI agent posing as a supplier of fencing, road signs and other steel products. He apparently had no difficulty distributing $40,000 in bribes to various officials. Only one of the 106 payoffs proffered was rejected, and that was because the amount was deemed too paltry. Said U.S. Attorney Rudolph Giuliani: "Compared to other states, New York is a much friendlier place to corrupt politicians, crooked businessmen and organized criminals."