Tears? You're crying because you were caught! Spare us your hypocrisy. So what if you are a nice guy. I'm sure Al Capone was a blast to hang out with too. But that wasn't a reason to ABSOLVE him of his CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES neither is it for you! If you did the crime, you must do the time. Clutching a Bible and claiming your belief in God doesn't give you a FREE PASS from corruption, greed and fraud!!! You consciously knew damn well what you were doing. God did not give us commandments (laws) to pick and choose which ones we should CONVENIENTLY follow. Thou shall NOT steal... Thou shall NOT lie... How about thou shall NOT deceive? The Bible frequently condemns the giving and receiving of bribes (Amos 5:12). The psalmist spoke of sinners and bloodthirsty men "whose right hand is full of bribes" (Psalms 26:10). I applaud this judge and the jury for doing the RIGHT THING!
I find it amusing to hear Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel, Republican Senator John Ensign and the Head of ACORN declare a witch hunt and being targets of a SMEAR CAMPAIGN! Come on now, the evidence of criminal activity that has come to light would tell us all otherwise. Now if NOTHING had been discovered than yes I would absolutely agree. But the FACT is that you are NOT INNOCENT, therefore you should be punished according to our laws. This reminds me of a child who steals a cookie from the cookie jar after his mom told him he couldn't have cookies before dinner. His mother confronts him and the child adamantly denies any WRONGDOING while clearly having cookie crumbs all over his face.
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New Zealand Herald
Tears flow over Taito Phillip Field's 'tough penalty'
written by Staff
Tuesday Oct 06, 2009 at 7:40pm
Tears flowed when disgraced former MP Taito Phillip Field was today sentenced to six years in jail, with his lawyer saying he could not rule out an appeal.
Field, 57, stood in the High Court at Auckland dock clutching a bible as he became the first MP to be jailed for bribery, corruption and perverting the course of justice.
His lawyer Paul Davison , QC, told reporters six years was "a tough penalty for someone like Mr Field", who was an MP for 12 years, for Labour then as an independent.
The sentence was longer than he thought appropriate, Mr Davidson said.
"The issue of appeal hasn't been decided, but it's certainly something which is receiving some consideration."
Field's wife Maxine said she was heartbroken.
Her husband told her this morning that whatever happened, she had to look up to the Lord and be strong.
"I'll be OK. We'll be OK. God will take care of us. We are so heartbroken because all this is happening after the tsunami in Samoa," she said, still protesting her husband's innocence.
"I'm very sad. There was no intention at all," she said.
Justice Rodney Hansen sentenced Field to four years in prison on the bribery and corruption charges and two years on the charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The sentences were to be served cumulatively.
In August, a jury found the former Mangere MP guilty of 26 of the 35 criminal charges he faced, ending a 15-week trial.
He was found guilty of 11 of 12 charges of bribery and corruption after getting Thai nationals to carry out work on his properties in Auckland and Samoa in return for immigration assistance between November 2002 and October 2005.
He was also found guilty of 15 of 23 charges of wilfully attempting to obstruct or pervert the course of justice relating to evidence he gave to a Government-ordered inquiry by Noel Ingram, QC, into his conduct.
In 2002, he had become a minister outside Cabinet when made Parliamentary undersecretary for Pacific Island Affairs, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Social Development and Employment.
Field failed to accept responsibility and abused his position of power, the Crown said.
But Mr Davison said Field had accepted the jury's verdict and had expressed remorse.
Justice Hansen said the jury must have accepted that Field knew he was accepting free work on his homes from grateful Thai tradesmen, in return for immigration help.
"You saw the results, you must have known that their willing assistance was saving you tens of thousands of dollars," Justice Hansen said.
"In my view you quite consciously used their adulations of you for your private gain."
Justice Hansen also said the jury must have found Field was trying to avoid justice when making and arranging for false information to be given to the Ingram Inquiry.
Speaking outside the court, Crown prosecutor Simon Moore said the sentence was a very careful judgement by a judge who sat through weeks of evidence.
Tears flow over Taito Phillip Field's 'tough penalty'
written by Staff
Tuesday Oct 06, 2009 at 7:40pm
Tears flowed when disgraced former MP Taito Phillip Field was today sentenced to six years in jail, with his lawyer saying he could not rule out an appeal.
Field, 57, stood in the High Court at Auckland dock clutching a bible as he became the first MP to be jailed for bribery, corruption and perverting the course of justice.
His lawyer Paul Davison , QC, told reporters six years was "a tough penalty for someone like Mr Field", who was an MP for 12 years, for Labour then as an independent.
The sentence was longer than he thought appropriate, Mr Davidson said.
"The issue of appeal hasn't been decided, but it's certainly something which is receiving some consideration."
Field's wife Maxine said she was heartbroken.
Her husband told her this morning that whatever happened, she had to look up to the Lord and be strong.
"I'll be OK. We'll be OK. God will take care of us. We are so heartbroken because all this is happening after the tsunami in Samoa," she said, still protesting her husband's innocence.
"I'm very sad. There was no intention at all," she said.
Justice Rodney Hansen sentenced Field to four years in prison on the bribery and corruption charges and two years on the charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The sentences were to be served cumulatively.
In August, a jury found the former Mangere MP guilty of 26 of the 35 criminal charges he faced, ending a 15-week trial.
He was found guilty of 11 of 12 charges of bribery and corruption after getting Thai nationals to carry out work on his properties in Auckland and Samoa in return for immigration assistance between November 2002 and October 2005.
He was also found guilty of 15 of 23 charges of wilfully attempting to obstruct or pervert the course of justice relating to evidence he gave to a Government-ordered inquiry by Noel Ingram, QC, into his conduct.
In 2002, he had become a minister outside Cabinet when made Parliamentary undersecretary for Pacific Island Affairs, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Social Development and Employment.
Field failed to accept responsibility and abused his position of power, the Crown said.
But Mr Davison said Field had accepted the jury's verdict and had expressed remorse.
Justice Hansen said the jury must have accepted that Field knew he was accepting free work on his homes from grateful Thai tradesmen, in return for immigration help.
"You saw the results, you must have known that their willing assistance was saving you tens of thousands of dollars," Justice Hansen said.
"In my view you quite consciously used their adulations of you for your private gain."
Justice Hansen also said the jury must have found Field was trying to avoid justice when making and arranging for false information to be given to the Ingram Inquiry.
Speaking outside the court, Crown prosecutor Simon Moore said the sentence was a very careful judgement by a judge who sat through weeks of evidence.
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