Bribes and Zoning

Unfortunately, bribery in the context of land use planning decisions is an all too frequent occurrence. The First Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld a decision convicting an attorney who acted as a go-between in a zoning change for pay scheme. The council members got $25,0000 for their vote, around $ 5,000 each. One of the councilmen was an FBI informant. The technical issues on appeal aren't important for this blog entry. My point is the prevalence of bribery in the zoning context. It is a very unfortunate by-product of the zoning system. The case is US v Ciresi, 2012 WL 4757916 (1st Cir. 2012).