Michael Milken

As a citizen previously uninterested in taking part in the receiving end of the American justice system, I have been forced to change my opinions and would now like to trade my clean criminal record and economic situation for Michael Milken’s.

If I were to be placed in his halfway house and employed by my former co-workers for $67,600 per year, I would gain nearly $40,000 in annual income (Jan. 5-6). With Milken’s and his family’s ill-gotten gains, I would consider a two-year minimum security prison sentence and a $60,000 per hour (paid 24 hours a day) career and retire appropriately.

The outcome in Milken’s case is flabbergasting, as is the charity-based community’s response. The UC system has refused dealings with corporations that support apartheid and, of course, would refuse drug lords’ money but lists Milken as a major benefactor with his name on the Friends of UCLA plaques next to the dean’s office in the School of Medicine. Is Milken’s plundered wealth less tainted than other criminals? I consider Milken’s and Ivan Boesky’s similar crimes to be treasonous and feel appropriate retribution (or a presidential pardon) should be utilized to communicate to the American people how these activities are to be interpreted for posterity.

ANTON DOTSON

Venice