Tonight I am ashamed of my country: The king pin flies and the underlings rot in prison:
In the Twin Cities, people closest to the case of Carlos Vignali, were furious when they got word that the brother-in-law of former President Bill Clinton successfully lobbied for Vignali's clemency. "The American system has been bought," said police investigator Tony Adams, who was among those who broke up the Minneapolis-based cocaine ring in which Vignali was a major player. Adams called for a congressional hearing into the matter.
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Altogether, 29 ring members were convicted or pleaded guilty in the case; one was acquitted. Mark Webster, who served five years in prison after pleading guilty to a conspiracy charge, called the news "crazy. The sad thing is, the big guy's out and everyone underneath him is still suffering in prison or on probation."
Webster said Rodham's intervention "is how these people do it -- money under the table, one hand washing the other. Her brother gets the hit, and it greases things for Carlos. And he's out, probably riding around in his Lamborghini."
Officials closest to the case say that Vignali, now 29, was an unlikely candidate for clemency, largely because he was near the top of the ring -- and unrepentant about his role in it. Most were not consulted about it, and those who were said their recommendations against it were ignored by the White House.
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