THE MIKE SILER STORY THAT NO ONE HEARD

On July 23, after nearly two years of battling false information,
fictitious evidence and one-sided coverage in the media, my brother, former
Schenectady Police Officer Michael Siler, agreed to plead guilty to several
felony counts involving his alleged role in drug trafficking. Facing a
potential prison sentence of 50 years, Mike felt he had no choice but to
plead to something he did not do - rather than put us, his family, through
a harrowing trial.

I have spent those two years watching in silence as my brother was tried in
the court of public opinion. Today, I am writing to tell a little of the
other side of the story.

Mike's family and friends know him to be a man of principle and integrity;
even today, many of his colleagues would tell you he was one of the good
guys on the force. And yet, despite evidence to the contrary, my brother
has been labeled a bad cop and accused of extorting from drug dealers for
his own profit.

All Mike ever wanted was to be a police officer. It is in his blood - our
father was a Schenectady police officer for many years. For five years on
the force, Mike repeatedly demonstrated how much he cared about the
community he served. I once asked him what it was like to work on "the
Hill." Having grown up in Schenectady, I remember the Hamilton Hill area as
one many people would not venture into even in daylight. Mike said a lot of
good people lived there, and he spoke with pride of how longtime residents
thanked him and his partner for making it a safer place to live. Were these
people interviewed during the prosecution's zealous gathering of evidence?

Mike also told me about two elderly sisters on Mumford Street. He liked to
keep an eye on them because they had told him they were nervous about
crime. When the sisters were murdered while Mike was out of town, it
haunted him that he wasn't there to protect them.

Two years ago, Mike was taken away from his dream job and forced to put his
life on hold while trying to defend himself against false charges. Can you
imagine what you would do if that happened to you? Mike tried to make the
best of a devastating situation; he worked where he could, looked out for a
sick relative and served meals to the elderly.

In the wake of Mike's plea bargain, some people have expressed indignation
over "what he did." In fact, what was done to Mike Siler is what deserves
your indignation.

The basics of criminal law teach that the goal of the prosecution is to
seek justice, not merely conviction. The federal prosecutor in this case
has forgotten his mandate because there was no justice for Mike Siler - or
for the many people who plead guilty to crimes they did not commit in order
to avoid a potentially worse fate at the hands of a jury that may not know
the real truth.

Mike had hoped - he desperately wanted - to present his truth to a jury; he
was eager to correct the misinformation and lies that have been told about
him. But faced with a long, difficult trial, and with the loss of his
colleagues' support, he felt he had no choice but to plead. His family
knows he made his decision in part for us. We love him for that and support
him 100 percent.

And I will forever look at people who plead guilty in a new light.

CHRISTINE SILER HAUS

South Orange, N.J.

The writer is a 2001 graduate of Fordham Law School.