Reasonable prison time

The Herald reports:

Two men convicted of corruption in New Zealand’s largest bribery case have been sent to prison.

Former Auckland Transport manager Murray Noone, and roading contractor Projenz managing director Stephen Borlase were investigated by the Serious Fraud Office and in December found guilty on six and eight charges, respectively, of taking and giving bribes involving more than $1 million.

Justice Sally Fitzgerald this morning at the High Court at Auckland jailed Borlase for five years and six months, and Noone for five years.

Those sentences sounds reasonable. It was a significant level of fraud, over many years and the criminals involved have shown no remorse for their stealing of ratepayer and taxpayer money.

Justice Fitzgerald noted the sums involved exceeded any other domestic conviction for bribery or corruption and damaged New Zealand’s civic institutions and international reputation.

“Offending of this nature has a wider effect, harming New Zealand’s public reputation as a place where corruption is low or nonexistent,” she said.

Yep, which is why you need a deterrent.

Auckland Transport chief infrastructure officer Greg Edmonds, who had overseen Noone, said: “At the heart of this issue is a serious breach of trust by two individuals whose actions are in no way an indication of any sort of systemic failure.”

Oh bullshit. Good systems would catch this early on.