(The Corporatist Agenda at its Finest – promoted by SFBrianCL)

There’s been a lot of talk about the recent rise of violent crime in cities across America. Chuck Poochigian, the Republican candidate for Attorney General of Cailfornia, particularly likes to celebrate the spike of violence in Oakland, California, where rival candidate Jerry Brown has been serving as mayor. But violence has many forms.

To paraphrase Woodie Guthrie, some folks kill with a gun, others with a fountain pen.

  “The race for ‘Top Cop’ is especially critical this year,” says Chuck Poochigian, “important because of the officeholder’s ability to affect public safety, our business climate and quality of life….  California needs a ‘Top Cop’ who will fight crime head-on.  It is imperative that the office be led by someone who respects the rule of law and will always put public safety first.”

Well, I guess leaves ol’ Chucky out – except for the business climate part, of course. Chuck’s been carrying the water for big corporations in the California legislature for quite a while.

For example, the Corporate Criminal Liability Act was signed into law in 1991 by then-Governor George Deukmejian (and boss of Chuck) “as an appropriate law enforcement tool aimed at preventing socially unacceptable acts, such as when a businesses conceals a serious danger that they know is likely to injure or kill a consumer or a worker.” Good for Duke and Chuck – and California consumers!

Next election cycle, corporate America found a new ally when Chuck set up shop in the California Assembly. The bucks rolled in from oil, tobacco and booze producers and Chuck did their bidding.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Sweden, Dr. Viking O. Bjork was having trouble sleeping. Seems the heart valve that he’d help market was making people’s hearts explode. (No kidding). The doc, being a good guy, called the head of Pfizer in New York and told him to stop putting explosive devices in people’s hearts, ”… and if you continue against my advice, this is murder,” said the doc.

“Pshaw!” said Pfizer, “Don’t worry about it – and whatever you do don’t tell anybody.” Then they called somebody who called California State Assemblyman Charles Poochigian (R-Fresno) – because knowingly implanting devices into people that made their hearts explode was a clear violation of  California’s Corporate Criminal Liability Act.  According to the federal government, Pfizer had certainly done all that and more. The Bjork valves were manufactured in Irvine, Cailfornia and Chuck Pachoogian had a reputation for going to bat for giant corporations that were being picked on.

  So after cashing checks from Pfizer and the Chamber of Commerce and the Manufacturers Association (for his campaign) Chuck authored Assembly Bill 675, which would decriminalize the knowing implantation of devices that caused  hearts to explode.

In a curious twist, it took another Swede to put AB 675 over the top. In return for providing “political cover” for every Republican in the Assembly, the state Attorney General at the time, Dan Lungren, raked in about $20K. from Pfizer.  The California District Attorneys Association called that “playing politics and courting business over fellow crime fighters.”

Pfizer wound up paying out more than $100,000 to Poochigian and other Republicans – to basically let them get away with murder.