THE ARREST:
Another state legislator is charged and more may be in trouble.
THE INDICTMENT:
Once again, it comes down to the inordinate role of money in politics.
Had enough yet, New York? Those self-serving pronouncements about a state government that suddenly works sound tone deaf, if not clueless, in the wake of the arrest of state Sen. John Sampson and revelations that two or three more senators are under investigation.
The charges against Mr. Sampson — embezzlement, obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI — brings the tally to four arrests of state government officials in the past four weeks, and 32 in the last seven years. Documents in the case of convicted ex-Sen. Shirley Huntley indicate that at least two, and possibly three senators with whom she spoke while she wore a wire for the FBI are under scrutiny. As the FBI notes, the words incumbent and defendant are becoming all to interchangeable.
So what if the Legislature isn't quite as dysfunctional as it used to be? Its accomplishments are overshadowed and undermined by one scandal after another. It just might be more corrupt than ever. The ever-present need for reform is suddenly so urgent that it seems it would be best achieved with a new Legislature.
That, in fact, is what federal prosecutors have set in motion. Mr. Sampson, the former majority leader, has no more business remaining in the Legislature than Malcolm Smith and Eric Stevenson. Perhaps even less, given that he's accused of trying to obtain the names of witnesses so he could "take them out."
The public should have no tolerance for an institution that waits until actual convictions, not mere criminal indictments, before removing members who represent little more than civic embarrassment. Yet an enraged and betrayed citizenry needs to take a more pre-emptive approach as well. Getting a new and better Legislature must begin long before criminal investigations are launched.
The solutions are painfully obvious if still politically daunting. The rules need to be changed so better and more ethical candidates are inclined to run in fairer elections. That means controlling the corrupting influence of money by lowering contributions limits and providing matching public funds for candidates who want them. It also requires stripping legislators of the power to draw their own districts.
The state attorney general's office, meanwhile, must be empowered to pursue New York's epidemic of corruption cases just as federal prosecutors are. Penalties need to be more severe.
What's needed, in short, is a comprehensive solution. Those who say that any one aspect of reform won't cure every problem only strengthen the case for a broad approach.
Failure of the governor and the remaining honorable members of the Legislature to enact such reform this session will constitute an indictment of its own.
The voters have been pushed to their breaking point. Gone are the days when New Yorkers had little regard for the Legislature but at least liked their own representatives. Now they've lost trust in them, too. A third of voters think their senator or assemblyman could be among the next arrested, according to a recent Siena poll. And 81 percent of them expect more legislators to be indicted.
It's an odd way to create legislative vacancies. But New Yorkers need to seize the opportunity that such rampant corruption presents. If the arrest of Mr. Sampson and the rest isn't a compelling argument for kicking out the scoundrels, and taking steps to keep them out, nothing is.