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Now what did he do ??
He used all the campaign money to gamble and pay for his credit card bills.

Why did he avoid jail time ??
Since as said by the lawyer that his crimes are not that serious and what he did didn't hurt anyone.

How much money did he use ??
More than $255,000

Does he think that he was addicted ?? NO apparently the mayor thinks it was all normal and he is not addicted to gambling.

The fact is , he didn't win 😂 anything thus I guess he should have realized it sooner that he is wasting all this money. He was extremely lucky that he was not given jail time. He could have easily been behind the bars for years. Had it been a normal person, they would have gotten more serious consequences.

Now was it fair ?!
What do you think ?

Source:
https://calvinayre.com/2021/01/15/business/former-indiana-mayor-who-gambled-away-campaign-funds-avoids-prison/ (https://calvinayre.com/2021/01/15/business/former-indiana-mayor-who-gambled-away-campaign-funds-avoids-prison/)

Gambling shouldn't be a preoccupation for a mayor no matter in which city. For 4 years he was playing with the campaign money.  :o Just think about how many other and surely bigger cases are out there. I I believe that the increase of transparency in public institutions is a must to relieve the world from the burden of corruption. Blockchain and the decentralization of power is the obvious way to accomplish this.

It is certainly not fair. The juridical system should be much harsher when it comes to public money.

That was such a light sentence, he should be bar from running in election because that's corruption, he is lucky to have that kind sentence the amount is very huge, losing that amount of money, it can be considered addiction, he cannot control the mount of money he is losing and it's not even his money.

They probably need to work around the law with that. In essence, you really shouldn’t do that. They should be against the law, and I’m not sure if the funds came from fundraising or the public funds themselves. Probably it has a portion of his donations and just used it for that. I think those people who devote their time to help the former mayor should be the ones who get the funds since he didn’t use them for the right thing.

There are times when the law seems unfair to those with power and money. When the culprit is an ordinary person the punishment will look very harsh as if they have done something heavy and we often see rulers and billionaire getting only lighter sentences. This is a fact.

Not so sure that a person who cant control his desire to gamble and spend a lot of money on gambling is not one of those gambler who are addicted. It is surprising that the Mayor has spent so much money on gambling but is not addicted to gambling. Has the attorney defended the wrong ?

Plus the man is not even aware of it , the first step should always be knowing that you do need help.
I do believe the judge made a very wrong decision.


No this money particularly he did collect from the people though. The guy asked the people to fund for his campaign and then used this money 💰 to gamble. It is indeed the money of the people.


If anyone else would have done something like that I do believe that the punishment would have been really bad. Plus I do believe people here on the forum are much more open towards integrating the gambling with things like : responsible gambling , with things like: finding help. It indeed is a shame to see such cases and the government being unfair so bluntly.

He's lucky to have money to spend on gambling. He would've gambled with free mind, because what he risk on gambling isn't his money. He might've planned to gamble and multiply the holdings and support the common people. What he have spend on gambling is really a big volume, and the funny part is his winning. He has lost almost everything on gambling

this logic is bullshit and whoever the judge or the lawyer is should be jailed too along with Joseph Stahura. this is a serious crime and should be dealt with accordingly. the crime may not have "hurt" anyone but it is still fraud.

obviously not. the only reason why he was spared jail time is probably because of his former position or his connections. this just shows how corrupt the "justice" system is. although I'm glad he didn't win. who knows how much e has stolen already when he was still a mayor.

a person like this is not worthy of leading a city...
I don't know where the campaign funds came from but if he really likes gambling then he should just play with his income and not his campaign money. *I can't imagine if a gambler becomes the leader in our city then he will definitely corrupt and use the city funds for his gambling

This is not fair, as justice should not look for emotional attachment to decide the weight of the punishment they would give. Given the scale of his action, 2 years probation and 1 year home detention is not enough, and will never be enough as the charges can be up to 23 years behind the bars.

The charges can be acceptable up to half of 23 years, due to his plead of guilty and remorse in his action. Anything other than that is pure under the table deal with the judge.

Not sure how he raised his campaign money, what ever be the situation it shows the level of responsibility and i wonder what all blunders he committed when he was in power.

Every addict have this kind of confidence in them, a drug addict will not accept his addiction and so is the case with any form of addiction.

You know on how connection works or do talk about on being a friend or colleague because if you do try to look into those angles then its really indeed a violation

which is indeed a punishable type of offense, it might not really be that heavy compared to other crimes or situations but still a violation and laws should really be applied to it

and would have that fair implementation on what are the consequences behind that. You would really be expecting some sort of exclusion when someone in big ranks or positions
would get involved into will really be treated a bit different that the usual case.

Crazy! The law is not the same for everyone, I guess! This is the nice example actually, a politician take $255k for gambling, and he walks away almost free from that, and some ordinary guy get a prison sentence for smoking a joint! Both crimes are not that serious and don't hurt anyone, but it's the system! And we wish crypto to be regulated by "that system"?! By that people who do this kind of things?
As you can see by my words, for me this story hides a bigger picture! It's not so hard to see that bigger picture, and it's not so hard to get to one simple conclusion, we need changes... the only hard thing is to start making those changes!

Obviously, thatbis not fair!

If a ordinary people walked out with that huge amount of money and use it for gambling that would be a huge deal for politicians but if they are the ones doing the same thing it will be a different situation as they would cover things up and be clean at the front of millions of people. It is really true that criminals are now sitting in these positions.

It is really okay if the money that he spent on gambling is his own money, there will be no problem if that's what he did.

But the main problem is that it is not his money and he only did it for his own good. He took advantage of the campaign's funds without even thinking about the consequences that can happen to him.
That's clearly a corrupt scenario where people doesn't deserve that kind of leaders. Gambling should be played with a player's own money not by the other funds.

What a shame that the justice system in many countries are not right and unfair to those who can't afford to pay judges or the law.

If you believe the justice system is unfair, then the answer is not fair.

We are not to judge his offense or crime, we have the right person to do that and they have a decision, therefore it should be respected if you believe that the justice system in such place is fair.

The word he does not hurt anyone, I just don't get it but I trust those who make a verdict anyway.

Lessoned learn, don't use the money that you can't afford to use, especially not yours.

Seriously, he didn't get into jail because it is not a serious crime but he has stolen a huge amount of money which is bad and we all know that there is a law regarding it, I don't know the reason why he did not get into jail but he is really lucky for that thing. It is not his money that he has spent on such personal things. It only means that there is the unfair treatment for rich and poor people, imagine if a normal person who is not in good names will steal even a small amount of money then he'll get into jail right away unlike what happened to Stahura.

Wow, he must have gotten pretty lucky here or maybe he did some kind of a deal. A fine for only 7500 USD and Jo jail time? People who get busted with small quantities of drugs get long jail sentences but he is allowed to walk free? I mean he misused funds and broke all rules about objectivity and appropriate use of campaign funds.

I think that prisons don't fulfil the task of reeducating people but are instead worsening one's condition because a lot of violence and dangerous people can be met there. So if a person did not commit a violent crime like raping or killing something, I think it's wise to use other forms of punishment than putting them in prison.
But given the world we actually live in, this decision was clearly very mild. Then again, he returned the money already and will pay a fine, so maybe it's a good deal for society.

It will only be fair if the funds will be given to those who contributed on that campaign funds. For sure there's some kind of alterations when the case was being heated you know how politics go roll around in every sections in the government.

I guess he's got a good lawyer then. To me, it doesn't matter what he used the money for, it's still a crime, if he used the money for illegal purposes, it's a separate crime and therefore separate charges. Circumstances don't help, he wasn't desperate nor was he in need but I find it weird they don't say he was addicted as that would actually help his case right?

Whether the money went to the casinos or to the actual campaign made no difference at all. It was the same money burned for nonsense anyway.

But my question was, was that act not tantamount to stealing? I am no expert in election laws of Joseph Stahura's place but that money wasn't for him personally, right? So was using an amount not intended for personal use to pay for personal bills and gambling expenses not stealing?

This Mayor is nothing compared to some other government officials of our country who support drugs, illegal loggings, Smuggled Cigarettes, and other illegal stuff but still sitting on their chairs unharmed. No one could deny that especially when you living here, It's easy for others to say that leaders like this have no right to become leaders or to get anything from people's tax but what can we do? these people already own the land equivalent half of the city? The moment they wrote those people's names in the voting paper that's when the countdown of our doomsday. Good thing for those who don't have such kind of leaders. If you are living in the city with a just leader you need to follow and support your true leaders if ever there comes a time to give you an option to choose him again, don't hesitate to write their names for the second time.

He got that sentence because of the judge, who see things differently I don't think that's fair and could become a bad precedent, for those who will do similar offense, the prosecutors can make an appeal for this kind of decision, it's one of the decisions that makes people wonder if the judge was bribed.

I do not know if that is fair or not, but as former officials, he still has the power to avoid the jail, even if he makes a crime. He can contact his friends and tell them that he is not guilty, and I am sure he can do that easily. But if that happens to a normal person, he will get in jail and be taken to rehabilitation because he uses too big money in gambling. That is life, and I am sure that is happening in many places.

That sentence was too light for him to learn his lessons and I'm sure that he'll still be able to do the same thing in the future. If he couldn't discipline himself in using the funds that he doesn't own, how much more if he had won the position? I guess his power and position are also the reasons why the judge made that kind of decision which is not really fair for ordinary people.

I used to be profitable gambling on sports. It was a consistent money maker for me.

Around 2018 many sportsbooks were bought out by wallstreet investment firms who sought to centralize and consolidate the industry. Things began to change noticeably.

Its much harder to consistently win gambling on sports in 2020 and 2021 than it was in 2018 and 2019.

There are more questionable and shady referee and judging calls. Matchmaking and organizational difficulty is much improved at leveraging insider info that casual gamblers have no access to.

I think many recognize the sports gambling industry is changing but don't know the cause behind it.   :)

Of course, this is unfair, very unfair. But the world's unfair. Especially among dealings of men, fairness is really just a concept rather than a real-world standard.

If only this man were not a former mayor, this man would have landed straight to jail right away. I can't speak much of the extent to which justice is served in other places, but I have probably enough idea that there is indeed injustice and unfairness in almost all parts of the globe.

In my country, politicians stealing billions are not rotting in jail but illiterate individuals who are involved in the pettiest of crimes are even meeting death inside prisons.

Not sure how did they said it dint hurt anybody. Because those amounts are not his personal funds, its public who would have contributed and when they knew about it in the end for them it was waste contributing to it. Instead they could have gamble themselves or did what they want to with their money instead he is gambling on their funds. So, this should be resulting in some action.

it wasnt fair of course but what can we do ? that is how justice served if you have money  . rich people can easily get away with the crimes that they make but if that happens fo poor people the person can be convicted easily  .

 his lawyer is clearly defending him because that is his lawyer and didnt he won even a few bets for those money that he gambled ? betting all those money in a single or double bet would also be unbelievable because thats huge . the truth is he win some but he is only addicted and he dont know how to stop so he loose all

Lol, it's funny but are campaign fund raisers obligated to use the money as they collect it for? I think it's more like a donation so that's the reason why he was spared else there would have been financial fraud charges against him and he would have needed to pay back all lost money. Even if he avoids jail, he will still have mental punishment after losing such a big amount  ;D , he was obviously addicted and am sure he will still gamble in future xD

sometime also the law have some limit... probably he was not dumb at all since he can avoid prison just with a good lawyer.
but a person that make some many bet without being a millionaire clear it represents an issue for the whole society if held any public charge.
ok for him this can't be an addiction, but it's of course out of a normal limit of playing a superball bet...

I think you judge the case based on the level of risk he exposed himself and others to with the money. Almost everyone (apart from few people) expose his/herself to big risk with the kind of things he/she spends money on. The main problem is if it's habitual and intentionally. Those who do it intentionally or habitually will likely receive more "punishment" in just society(and helped).  Those who do it unintentionally and occasionally(or even habitually) could be given light "punishment" and helped too.

I believe it's good for everyone to be responsible adults so that they don't have too much problems in life, and others don't get "infected" and start being reckless.

I think it is not fair spending 255.000 Us dollar public funds and get away with one year home probation and a 7500 Us dollar fine.It looks like the judge didn’t sentence him to jail because of his status as mayor.If the same judge would have been judging the same identical case with a normal person I am sure he would have asked a few years behind the bars.

He spend the campaign fund, not the public funds. In which nobody still knows where and how he gets it. The point of the article is on how did they sentenced the accused when there are still more to be investigated especially that he is a public servant.

Yeah its good that he quit and do remorse, but the investigation is really in need for this as the people must know where did the campaign fund came from.

This will explain about those campaign funds came from.

https://scienceexchange.caltech.edu/topics/voting-elections/campaign-funding-finance-explained
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_finance

Its really very unfair that he didn't really face up some jail time on committing this mistake.It will all vary on the actual source of those campaign
funds if they would push through on giving some legal actions or would simply just forgive him to make the sentence will be lighter.

First, it is not fair, but I'm not surprise since the law is always bendable when we're talking about Political people or wealthy people, and the other way around when it comes to normal people. Second and last, I think he and his attorney are both crazy, because I don't see any reason to protect those people who clearly did something wrong but still there is a lot of lawyers who wants money than to prevail justice.

What I saw here is that before he runs for a Mayor candidacy, he first do stuff that will give fragrance to his name so that the people in their place will vote for him. Unfortunately, turns out he couldn't hide his true color anymore.

You’re right. Politicians and many individuals under the upper class of the society are given so much privilege that is really incomparable to a what an ordinary citizen would have. And to mention that they easily get out of their troubles through connections and money. But with this, being a public figure and with the people’s money getting involved with their dishonorable deeds, things should be taken this lightly. The only good thing is he didn’t win, at least he won’t be able to do more than what he did.

If you have the power, the money, and the connections, cases like this would be nothing against you, and justice will always favor your side no matter how big your liabilities are. In this case, he is a former mayor, and it seems that the judge is on his side from the get go. Probation and house arrest is not a big deal, especially if all the comforts are still on your side while the ones you victimized will not be reimbursed on what they lost. It is unfair of a judgment IMO, though if that's the ruling of the courts, one can only comment on the outcome but won't change it.

i did a quick search about campaign funds in election if what is its uses and found out that it cant be use for personal but it can be handed out to the needy  . joseph did a violation and must pay for his actions that he made inside the jail .
we dont need a mayor like this .
he was only a mayor and he did this already but if he was already in a position higher than this , he could do more serious violations and he can manipulate everything easily using the money that and the power that he temporarily have .

As what I thought, it's confidential for an elected person to do such activity and by means of law, he/she shouldn't conduct such activity while in the position. But just like the movies and series that we watch, people in power can do everything that they can. Being a former mayor, there's a tendency that he's also doing it while in the service and position.

Spending that fund in gambling should give him not a lite punishment. And with what he said about him not being addicted to it, his lawyer should've requested for a psychological test and help.

I do not know about the rules about how campaigns can spend their money in the US but should not that be not allowed? What I mean is that even if he got that money by donations does not that meant that he gave a different use to that money than what it was intended? Could the donors accuse him of fraud? Because to me this is a terrible precedent, a candidate can just use hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for his bills and do whatever else he wants and he is not going to pay the consequences.

Wow what a lucky person he is that he was able to avoid to be in jail after what he has done. Let's say that he lost half of that amount for gambling, I am still very amazed that he was able to say that it is normal and he is not addicted to gambling.

What a great excuse it is but I am sure that this happening will surely to give him a very big lesson as many will surely think negative towards him especially to what he did. I guess he is not a good gambler also as he was unable to win even with that amount of money.

Well, I suppose that wasn't fair, the fact remains that he pretty much broke the law. Ok maybe it's fine that he didn't really go to jail, but still, he should've at least been limited in his future gambling activities, probably let him have some help with regards to gambling. Whatever truth is about him and his gambling addiction is, it should still be done especially since he did the action of not using his own money to gamble, which is a fact that most gamblers agree could be a red sign.

Not fair as for normal citizen but since he have it's lawyer and the court rule it out then nothing can be done anymore about it, given ll those arguments he's now going to deal with his verdict.

The sentence has been vendicated by the jusdge who  handled his case he will serve all those sentence and pay for the damages coming from his gambling activities.

The fact that he didn't hurt anyone or it's just him alone who suffered from this act needs to have personal help
to avoid further damages after serving his restrictions, his gmbling problem needs attentions.

What kind of justice system is this, not jailing a man for stealing and using other people's money if this happens here he will be meted lifetime jail time and he will not be allowed to run for election, even a confession however sincere it maybe will not deserve this kind of sentence, the amount in our local currency is huge enough for a large scale corruption, and to think that the Mayor thinks he is not guilty at all.

that is why there is a "minimum security prison" people that are put there are considered not dangerous/violent or likely to escape which is perfect for the ex-mayor. (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/minimum%20security%20prison)

when you said "here" you meant the Philippines correct? do you remember Gloria Macapagal arroyo, Jose Marcelo Ejercito aka Erap and Bong Revilla? these politicians were also convicted but they are still able to run for congress or a government official. so It is just wishful thinking when you said they won't be able to run for election. what's worse is that there are people voting for them.

The information was incomplete and we don't know the whole story but the former Mayor made restitution of the embezzled funds and that was one of the considerations that the judge looked at before the decision was made.

Aside from that, the former Mayor also remorse for his actions that's why the penalty wasn't that hard. I hope that he is serious though as the judge trusted him.

I wondered if the fund is already his. Gambling(or taking big financial risk in this case) with public funds or funds not owned by the gambler isn't something that should be taken lightly. I would judge things differently and probably be a bit considerate if the risk affects him alone.

True! Also this misappropriation of public money should have been taken more seriously because this fellow is a Mayor! Those who are in charge of law, should be penalized even more severely if they break its provisions. So if a common citizen gets a jail term of 2 years for a crime, a law enforcement official should get 4 years of jail term for the same crime as a exemplary measure so that the trust of citizens on the law-and-order system remains intact!

Would really be that bit too on doubling the penalization which everything should really be fair and square but somehow if we do consider the crime had been committed  then its just right for it to be raised.

Its just these people does really have strong connections inside where its just normal that they would really be punished on the lightest possible that they can throw off.

Using up funds which shouldnt really be spent out on other means or shall we say for personal needs or motives then its just right to have appropriate action towards it.

We really can't expect fair justice in this world. Maybe the judge is thinking there are a lot more problems in their community so he didn't give the mayor hard time. But good thing for those credit companies that he owed, he paid them at least.  :P And also, campaign funds are considered donations, right? He just used it selfishly.

I've found a seperate article regarding this case which is more detailed.

Former Whiting mayor sentenced to probation, home detention on wire fraud, false tax return charges (https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/ct-ptb-stahura-sentencing-st-0114-20210113-d6ddsmgjhjco7gvnkfyctmymza-story.html)

This article shows the side of the mayor, and the citizens he had served in his service for 35 years.

So, in regards to this article, the former Whiting Mayor has been a good mayor in the community.

Thank you for sharing this with us. It is always good and also a definition of fairness, to know every side of a story.
I think that he was pardoned as he made efforts to correct his wrongs and considering his good deeds as a mayor.
Although, despite of that he was still sanctioned and misconduct is never were forgotten as many quickly assumed.

So that place has a lot of corrupt politicians to start with based on the article. He's the first one that showed remorse as the judge says and the are not mad because they know that the former Whiting Mayor is a great man. Still, he misused his funds and even though he is a great man, he still committed a crime. 1 or 2 mistakes could really take you down lower.

one mistake and your reputation is ruined. but who knows what really transpired for the past 35 years, right? anyway, maybe the judge was not giving him tough time because he did good service to his community for the past decades.  i believe there are a lot more politicians doing the same. actually across the globe, there will be more cases like this. but only few are being exposed with their lifestyle

He had a great lawyer, to be honest. He's telling the judge how different he is with the other mayors that corrupted the country. Another thing is that there are those who put their money in that campaigns funds and not mad about what happened but still, he needs to pay for that crime. If this will happen to other people, like a non-pilitician took that money to buy his parents a medicine, that would be different, right?

Psychopaths know how to play with emotions, remember that this scum that takes a human form is a politician and we all know that politicians are full of shit, they can easily lie their way into getting a lighter sentence by having connections in the judicial system, and he is part of the elite club of people that runs the country so the justice system does not apply to him. It is a good thing that he was removed from his position as a Mayor because this kinds of people definitely have the ability to steal public funds without a shred of dignity. In my opinion, a jail time should have been considered, if it were public funds, I would suggest a vigilante justice. To all the folks that can vote out there, always check if your candidates are avid gamblers or the political correct word for it is occasional player, or have any habit that may look indecent for a public official because they are not to be trusted with public funds because they are addicts.

Fair enough that he is enjoying wasting his money in gambling and received nothing but just a court call. He's so lucky he ain't got to jail but he is not lucky also for gambling. But the sad part is that he is ruining his name and reputation in the public, it sounds like I'm not going outside for this shameful act and abuse of authority.
I don't think he is saying right about the addiction because what he does is simply saying he got into such trouble. It is a sort of denial, what we saw is contrary to his gambling behavior.

Precisely! This kind of case should be enough to put him in jail, graft and corruptions is a serious case, using government funds for personal use is not right, the people have the right to see him paying the price of the crime he committed, if he's just a an ordinary government employee the chance of seeing him in jail is high for sure.


Big chance that the justice system is also been corrupted, the judge might been paid under the table ruling this out.

This is not an example of a person being lucky this is an example of how those that hold or held positions of power can use said power and influences to get away with almost any crime right in front of us and then claim that the system works, there is a different set of rules, one for them and another for us and that is what bothers people, in a world in which things were fair this person will spend at least a few years in jail but unfortunately we know the world is not fair in that regard at all.

It is a pity that people in power have some kind of favor in front of the judicial system compared to the most ordinary people. I am a supporter of equal rights, so I think that a suspended sentence should be replaced with a real one.

not his own money but it was the money of the organization that he is working for . if he want fair he need to spend the money of his own

if your in his shoes you will not commit the mistake that he did because you already think in advance and you are afraid of the results .
it proves that you are a honest person and more appropriate in this position than the corrupt guy .

you dont need to feel sad of what happened to him but he deserve it , he want it to happen .

all because he is remorseful of his act. everybody looks remorseful actually when caught but a person in power is a different story and after all we are compassionate people. if it just happens to the Chinese politician, he could be fed to the dogs alive.

officials just have heavier sentences when proved to have violated a law because they are aware of the law. he supposes to get about 23 years of jail time but he gets a slap on the wrist.

I don't think remorse should mitigate punishment for public officials. They are public figures and their punishments should not be mitigated; on the contrary, such actions should become loud and demonstrative, so that other people do not try to repeat such actions.

Justice was never fair for a certain price. These peopleget away with their crimes with no consequences because they have strong connections within the justice system, or they literally just have enough money to pay prosecutors and judges. What normally would have costed him jailtime is revoked despite him using $255,000 from his supporters. A big douche if I must say. Or perhaps the judge ruled the possible implications of the crime but was paid beforehand so he/she opted not to impose charges on him

As long as you have the money to pay for the good lawyers, your sentenced will be reduced or not at all. Despite of the decision of the court, I still believe that he has no reputation now and I think its fair enough if he is no longer allowed to run for any government position. Anyway, he gamble and pay his credit card using the campaign fund of his organization and we don’t know yet if he also use the public funds for his addiction, who knows?

Still got surprised about inequality of this world? Its not something new that those influential or to those who had position would really be having that kind of treatment even if they do commit out
those violations or crimes then would just simply be punished out with light ones compared if you are just an ordinary person then you would deal with maximum
one.

It isnt just right that he wouldnt really take the correct punishment for this one.Using up funds for other purposes is still a criminal offense.
I wont be also surprised that he would do this stuff once again.

What Stahura has done is completely wrong. Everything has been proven. He hasn't sentenced to jail, atleast some penalty needs to be paid. Simply he can be asked to pay the entire amount spend from public money. $255000 isn't a small amount. If this is left without big punishment, maybe tomorrow more other such personalities will repeat the same.

I've read the article on OP and he's just sentenced for two years probation along with one year of home detention and a fine of $7,500. For me, this is not enough for the money he spent on gambling. I'm thinking that maybe Stahura and the judge knew each other before so she did not sentence him to jail for a long time. He should atleast go to prison for 2 years so he would suffer for what he did. This is unfair to others who are in jail because of the same type of crime.

I think we cannot blame those people who put his crime to garbage because their life might be threaten, we just don't know the whole story about it. Some countries are strict on their rules whenever someone commits some crime, they quickly handled it with justice. they are those countries that managed to give their citizens a good place to live due to their justice. On the other hand, most countries are corrupt and justice is only a myth to them especially the one who commits it who is someone capable of paying the judge, and so on so forth.

If we keep an open mind, and weigh loads of the case. The sanction can be somehow justifiable given that there is no proof that the campaign fund was part of the public fund. Then if it is private, this case can only be weighted more if that private person or institution files a case against that mayor.

If you would ask some online gamblers why they could bet thousands of dollars just for a single slot games or any other games, then it is because they can afford. Meanwhile, Joseph Stahura's campaign funds isn't really came from the money of the people, but from Stahura's networth himself. He is only charged for tax frauds which is really easy to get out of. Also, he wasn't alone and he never used it in an instant. He used it with his wife for over 5 years. Hence, this is just really a personal issue and shouldn't be taken to be a reason for imprisonment, as tax frauds are the only thing he can be charged of.

I think we are all aware that if a person has lot of money or has a lot of influence with other powerful people then that person can get away with almost anything and this is just another example of this, we know the world is unequal but that does not stop us from realizing this is getting ridiculous, politicians say all the right things to get elected but we know that at the end they do not care for the people that just voted for them which is why I have never understand the people that get upset about politics.

After familiarising myself with the law, the jurisdiction, and looking through different cases, one thing became clear to me: almost anything can be justified and nearly anyone can get away with various sorts of law violations as long as this person has a good lawyer. In the Stahura case, the fact that he immediately pleaded guilty has played an important role in building a case for leniency, also, as I understand it, Stahura handled his duties as a mayor pretty well. Plus he's got no criminal history, and it's not like he's killed or severely injured anyone. So in the end, he was viewed as a good man, who has served well to the community and made just one little mistake, which he very much regrets. I'm afraid, the judge was left with no choice...

Yes, this had been a normal scenario in todays world on where those people which are popular or influential would always be having that vip treatment
or something being special and in case if they do violate something then they would really be getting the slightest possible kind of consequence
or penalization which is totally unfair for those who caught on the same crime or violation but just only an ordinary man.
Deal with it folks since this one isnt really surprising.

It is what it is, it doesn't matter how advanced a country claims to be this always keeps happening, I'm pretty sure that if we make the effort we can easily find dozens of cases like this just in the last month, if a regular person did something like that you can bet that person will get 20 years of prison or more, but since the person that did it is a politician and has many influential friends then he can get away with it and somehow people are supposed to just think that the justice system is working as intended.

This is why the saying that justice is blind is completely false, it should be blind in the sense that you should not look at who you have in front of you in order for justice to be delivered, but justice has to be applied by humans, and we know that humans have biases, this person was a politician and it is obvious that he had many powerful friends and he used his influence and maybe even some favors that people owed to him to get away with this, and as long as justice keeps being applied by humans this will keep happening.

More than $255,000 and the lawyer says it's not an addition? Really.
I am not surprised though, trust a well-paid lawyer to defend his client by all means. And to think the punishment given to him is just home imprisonment and just that amount of fine. This guy won't learn his lesson.
There is a possibility that he might even do more in the future cause he scale through this easily.

Not only that this sets the wrong precedent, if this happens again and I'm pretty sure that it will then another lawyer will be able to bring this case to the judge and say that it is not a big deal because another person already did this and got a light sentence, that way it's more difficult for the next person that does something like this to be penalized too heavily for it, all in all this is a loss for the justice system and also for regular people because they see that justice has not and will not be served.

I mean, if you visited and made trips for like 50 times to a casino, doesn't that imply that you are addicted to gambling? I mean, if you are gambling in a one-time basis, you could have left as soon as you won. But the fact remains that he visited 50 times implies that the Mayor is indeed, addicted to gambling.


If the Mayor done something that is illegal, that should constitute that he is an intent of defrauding others. Even if they argue that the crimes done were not serious, the fact remains that what he had done is illegal and is against the law. What are the laws for if they are not executed properly? He got-off pretty easily but I do think that there should be an investigation as this seriously smells like a grave abuse of discretion done by the Judge.

Not only that public servants are in a position of trust that has been give to them by the public, if this was an example of a person stealing from a private business it will be bad enough, but this person stole and abused his position given by the people, instead of a lighter sentence he should have been given a harder one, after all what it is going to stop the next Mayor of doing something like this when he knows the sentence is going to be incredibly light?

Reality and this is why these people who are on the top would really be that confident on committing decisions or violations like this because they do know that they would able to get away from it too lightly
just because they have someone who can neither protect nor lessen out those sentences or consequences which is in fact the sad reality of this world.To those who had power and influence would really be treated
well or able to escape it out without any problems.Any form of stealing neither those are personal funds or into publics then thats always considered as illegal.It is just they are really abusing off their
power and influence. Is there something we can? This do really matters on what kind of government  you do had and what kind of leaders you do had in position.