Few could ask for more responsive constituent service than those Democratic St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger bent over backwards to represent. Trouble is there really were just a few of them, the ones who wrote his campaign big checks and expected results. Stenger did not disappoint. A multi-layer indictment accuses Stenger of enthusiastically offering pay-to-play access for the right price. Since prosecutors pointed out the “fairly voluminous” nature of the evidence collected, a guilty plea seems assured. Meanwhile, average citizens can take at least a sliver of solace that Stenger was actually charged with depriving them of “honest services” as a result of his corrupt schemes.
Of course Missourians are no stranger to organized graft by their politicians. After all, the “show me” state hosted the juggernaut machine of Tom Pendergast back in the first half of the last century, which gave Harry Truman his start in politics, and at its apex was as influential as any operation in US history. Just the same, in an era of unrivaled cynicism toward public servants, it’s particularly unhelpful to discover the overt shenanigans of Stenger, and the seeming nonchalant shrugs of Democrats more interested in replacing him than owning his crimes.
An old and dear friend of mine migrated to the St. Louis area some 30 years ago and considers it home. A thoughtful man, he embodies many of the electorate, inclined to civic participation and concerned about his community and the nation but, with three college-aged kids, including a beautiful daughter who just moved past a serious cancer scare, the distractions are daunting. Yet and still, the long list of Stenger’s offenses angers him and reinforces bitter indifference to a process that seems to produce sludge from both sides. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
In October of 2014, as Stenger was campaigning for office, Missouri businessman Joseph Rallo was not a happy camper. Despite making donations to assorted campaigns, Rallo was getting no bang for his buck. Stenger promised that would change so long as Rallo made quarterly $2500 donations to his campaign’s “trustee program.” Whether it was county insurance contracts, or sweetheart pricing for purchases of land tracts orchestrated by a Stenger appointee, Rallo got plenty of play for his pay.
Stenger seems to have been indefatigable in his desire to deliver for his patrons, and expected his staff to execute his graft, which didn’t sit well with some of them. Those who didn’t cooperate Stenger sought to remove or strong arm. This may have contributed to his downfall as evidence suggests cooperation by one or more members of his inner circle with prosecutors. Regardless, Stenger never took his eye off the ball, and his war chest, which totaled as much as $4.4 million, indicates plenty felt the investment worth the trouble. Even as things were falling apart, and Rallo was being asked specific questions by reporters about irregularities he was a part of, Stenger insisted if he just keep his mouth shut things would blow over once re-election was secured. Arrogance and delusion go hand in hand; Stenger clearly had plenty to spare of both.
America is now under siege by a White House so dishonest and corrupt its only metric for whether or not behavior is out of bounds is whether a slam dunk criminal case can be made against it. Ten thousand lies by the President clarify an attitude geared to the lowest common denominator. Fox/AM, the messaging braintrust Trump and his GOP collaborators rely on to inform base supporters has created a narrative fully focused on the equivalence necessary to normalize such subterranean standards. To do this it is constantly looking for outrageous acts of Democratic corruption wherever they can be found to strengthen the fallback proposition that Trumpism is no worse than anything it replaces. Sorry scoundrels like Steven Stenger provide invaluable aid and comfort to that quest.
I have the deepest respect for my Missouri buddy; he is a man with many qualities I seek to emulate. That he is not more full throated in his disdain for what most in his state now accept and support has disappointed me, particularly since his lovely wife immigrated here from South America. But I know he cares, and after a long day of work and all of his other responsibilities devotes more than a passing thought to where things stand, both locally and nationally. In the battle for the soul of our republic, good men like him should enjoy some degree of certainty as to where they need to be in protecting the well being of those they love. The Steve Stengers complicate that task, strengthening the cynicism required to simply declare “WTF…. everybody does it.” That’s music to Trump and his nihilists. Just like my buddy, we all deserve better and can’t afford to tolerate less. BC