Rhode Island Congressman David Cicilline grew up seeing the occasional mafia member at his family dinner table. His father was, in plain terms, a "mob lawyer" who represented a crime organization.
He became a lawyer, a public defender, and then a politician who advocated for causes. Back in the 1990's he was a "leading force in an effort to dismantle the system powering the political machine of [his own party]."
The "culture of corruption" in Rhode Island included cronyism. Lawmakers were allowed to "create commissions and boards tasked with doling out millions of dollars in contracts, and then appoint the members [of] those bodies or even serve on them themselves." The state constitution did not separate powers to prevent conflict of interest.
Now Cicilline has a new cause. The U.S. Congress has been investigating anti-trust violations among tech companies. Last July he took the opportunity during a hearing to blast Google's CEO with this question, "Why does Google steal content from honest businesses?"
(cont'd tomorrow)
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