ONE LAW FOR THE RICH?

Could it be that NYPD Sgt. Eric Adams and his organization, 100
Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, are on to something?

Adams plays the New York media like a piano, and his tendency to bite
the hand that feeds him - the NYPD - can be more than a little
off-putting.

But now Adams is criticizing Mary Jo White, the U.S. attorney for the
Southern District, for her refusal to prosecute white-collar buyers
caught in a huge home-delivery cocaine sting nearly a year ago.

The estimated number of purchasers is said to be between several
hundred and more than 2,000 - and the head of the New York office of
the Drug Enforcement Administration has been lobbying hard for
prosecution.

Court documents reveal a scheme where a bogus livery-cab company took
phone orders and drove huge amounts of powder cocaine to buyers at
Wall Street banks, white-shoe law firms and various other upscale
Manhattan addresses.

While the dealers face long jail terms, the buyers appear to be
walking off scot-free with letters of reprimand from White's office.

Adams contrasts this outcome with the regular prosecution of
crack-cocaine purchasers.

The latter are, for the most part, black and Hispanic.

U.S. Attorney White's targets, on the other hand, were almost
universally white - and the failure of federal officials to prosecute
them creates a "racially charged double standard," says Adams.

This time, he has a point.

The war on drugs is nothing if not a nuanced undertaking.

But when the law seemingly treats people differently for the same
basic crime, the result is unnecessary disrespect for the law itself.

Certainly the case at hand gives credence to those intolerant voices
who see racial discrimination and unfairness lurking in every corner
and crevice of the criminal justice system.

If Mary Jo White thinks that some people are above the law - for
whatever reason - then she should say so.