By Donna Westfall – October 15, 2026 The Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 went into effect in 1972. The essense; any deposit over $10,000 had to be reported to the Federal government to root out money-laundering, tax evasion and other illegal money transactions. Yesterday, Bank of America was slapped with $1.21 BILLION fine says Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Since 2023 Federal Regulators first identified problems. The next year they issued a Cease & Desist to BofA. BofA admitted they failed to follow the anti-money laundering laws and were hit with the fine for failing to report $5 Billion in suspicious transactions. The Countries involved were China, Russia, and Iran. Also sanctions were placed involving cartel-linked narcotics. BofA holds $1.9 TRILLION in total global deposits. They take in trillions of dollars in cash. Now try to figure this one out. The $5 billion doesn't refer to cash taken in by the bank. It refers to suspicious transactions that Bof A failed to report to the federal government. The $1.2 billion fine represents only a fraction of their quarterly profit. The bank reported a net income of $6.9 billion for that single three-month quarter alone. Needless to say, now may not be the best time to invest in BofA stock. Which brings us to our own local situations about not following the law. Over nearly 20 years, I have been preaching to deaf and dumb city councils about allegations of fraud and corruption involving the wastewater treatment plant, former Public Works Director, Jim Barnts, along with the problems of increasing water and sewer rates. I hope to live long enough to see the laws followed that allowed this to happen. Laws concerning conflicts of interest and bid rigging to name just two and I hope to see restitution paid from the ones who profited personally. Just drive behind Walmart and look at all the apartment buildings, single family residences and duplexes. How does it make you feel as a water/sewer ratepayer to have helped pay for Jim Barnt's development on his 50 acres? Why did he start contruction in 2007 BEFORE the Prop 218 protest was even held? Was it because he needed to placate one of his partners? What do you think his development is worth? How many millions of dollars? Maybe we should have a contest to see who can guess the closest to nailing down the worth of all that real estate? The thing that stands out vividly in my mind is Jim Barnts telling us ratepayers in 2007 that the sewer rates had to be doubled in order to pay back the loan on the wastewater treatment plant upgrade/expansion. Nothing was said about increasing the connection fees to developers. Wonder why? Let's see if the laws will ever be enforced or will this battle have to wind up in the court of public opinion? Do you want to be part of the public that brings to light the deep-seated frustration and fatigue that many long-time residents and ratepayers in Crescent City-Del Norte County experience when dealing with local infrastructure decisions, public financing, and municipal oversight? The issues I've raised and other have raised concerning Proposition 218 public notice processes, sewer and water rate hikes, system development connection fees, and allegations regarding conflicts of interest—touch on core legal and administrative principles that govern California local governments. Will the law(s) ever be carried out?