Different Kind of Lotto Jackpot

The news that seven Sanitation Department employees - including six supervisors - had been arrested for allegedly running a lottery operation out of two Bronx facilities reminded us once again that public employees who engage in corruption rarely weight risk vs. reward very shrewdly.

All those arrested in the case have more than a dozen years on the job, but most of them have not yet worked long enough to qualify for a full pension.

A Sanitation Worker who was earlier nailed in the scheme and became a cooperating witness told investigators that the ring kept 10 percent of the money invested by those seeking the illicit jackpot, which he said relied on the same numbers drawn by the state lottery. Unlike Lotto, however, this operation was not attracting millions. (Perhaps the ring lacked a zippy marketing slogan, like "All it takes is a dollar and a scheme.") The typical jackpots, according to one FBI agent, were in the vicinity of $20,000, suggested the ring's cut was about $2,000. Slice that up seven or eight ways and nobody was getting rich from the proceeds.

And so why jeopardize good-paying jobs and solid pensions once they retired for what figured to be no more than a few thousand dollars a year for each employee? Chances are, those charged are asking themselves that question right now.