Commissioner Quackenbush
* Your May 7 editorial saying that state Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush should resign has my support. The retort of some that possible violations of law are “politics” must be met by the review of prosecutors who simply analyze the facts in relation to existing statutes. If the facts support legal action, it must be taken. This type of decision-making is not couched in terms of whether the violations are done by a Democrat or Republican, particularly in a regulatory-type office like the state Insurance Department.
Likewise, the political contributions of insurance companies should have no bearing on the necessary prosecutorial analysis that should be underway by the attorney general and whoever else has jurisdiction. Without the appropriate legal action in addition to a resignation, the abuse of a public trust that you refer to is legally condoned and the rule of law goes down the drain.
MICHAEL H. MILLER
Los Angeles
*
* Re “Insurers--Quackenbush’s Victims, or His Allies?” May 4:
The question Kenneth Reich raised might be best answered by looking at the Quackenbush scandal from a business perspective. The insurers were on the hook for about $2.8 billion in fines and they settled for about $13 million in charitable contributions. Contributions that were tax-deductible, yet. Or in other words, about half a cent on the dollar!
This was a better deal than the $48 million they spent, largely given to the TV moguls, to overturn Props. 30 and 31, which might have made them liable for more billions for their misbehavior.
Reich’s quote of Harry Snyder of the Consumers Union is right on the mark. Investigate the insurance executives who authorized the checks. If we are to get justice for those who were cheated out of the reimbursements that they had coming, a little jail time might bring a change of heart. To them, Quackenbush was just some minor road kill on their way to maximizing their profits.
EMIL LAWTON
Sherman Oaks
*
* It doesn’t really matter whether the acts of Quackenbush are or are not legal. They certainly are unethical. So who is going to start the recall movement? You can count on me.
ROBERT L. FOX
Los Angeles