Community Contributions

CAPI connects practitioners and scholars in the public integrity field and helps ensure their valuable work reaches a broader audience. To that end, we are proud to present projects and publications authored by our Community Members. We have three genres of Community Contributions: general contributions, our Integrity in Brief series, and our Practitioner Toolkit series. If you have any work you would like to submit, please contact us here.

General Contributions

Re-Examining the Line Between Personal and Political Campaign Expenditures: Possible Solutions for a Hazy Statutory Framework by Jeffrey Greenberg, Columbia Law School Class of 2020 (October 2019)

The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General’s Seven Key Principles for Improving Our Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey Scores by Glenn A. Fine, Principal Deputy Inspector General, Performing the Duties of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense (September 2019)

Prosecuting Vote Suppression by Misinformation by Chelsea Mihelich, Columbia Law School Class of 2020 (September 2019)

Governance and Public Transparency: The Brazilian Case by Humberto E. C. Mota Filho, President of the Governance and Compliance Council of the Commercial Chamber of Rio de Janeiro and Cláudio Nascimento Alfradique, Professor at the School of Accounts and Management of the TCERJ-ECG/TEC-RJ (Audit Court of the State of Rio de Janeiro) (July 2019)

From the Basketball Court To Federal Court by Paul Tuchmann, Partner at Wiggin & Dana (March 2019)

Bribery Prosecutions Under Section 666 After McDonnell by Alex Botoman, Columbia Law School Class of 2018 (November 2018) 

The Corruption and Human Rights Connection: Government Acquiescence in Torture: by CAPI (October 2018)

Corruption by Card: How Police Association Cards Allow Law Enforcement to Cloak Self-Dealing as Discretion​: Andrew Kuntz, Columbia Law School Class of 2019 (August 2018) 

The Constitution Comes to the County Unit: Georgia’s State Level Electoral College: David Crockett, Columbia Law School Class of 2018 (May 2018).

Transformative Change at Rikers Island and Beyond: The Department of Investigation’s campaign to clean up the NYC Department of Correction: By CAPI (April 2018).

America's Familial Tribalism: Will it Impact Education Internationally?: Amra Sabic-El-Rayess, PhD, Associate Professor of Practice & Project Director, Center for Benefit-Cost Studies in Education, Teachers College, Columbia University and Alexandra Seeman (September 2017).

Recent Reforms of Switzerland's Anti-Corruption Laws: What they Mean for International Sports Organizations: Nicole Gütling, associate at Niederer, Kraft, & Frey in Zurich, Switzerland (August 2017).  

Snowing and Towing in Montréal: The Inspector General's Fight against Collusion in Two Industries: The Office of the Inspector General of Montréal (August 2017).  

Assessing Australia's National Integrity Framework: A New Way Forward: Summer Research Fellow at CAPI, Anita Das (July 2017).

Independent Inspectors General Under Siege: A Tale of Two State Inspectors General: Former New Jersey Inspector General Mary Jane Cooper and Louisiana Inspector General Stephen Street (January 2017).

Leveraging Resources and Relationships in Joint Corruption Investigations: Based on presentations by
Thomas Zugibe, the District Attorney of Rockland County; Philip Foglia, Special Deputy Inspector
General of the Office of the New York State Inspector General; and Nelson Sheingold, Deputy Comptroller and
Counsel for Investigations of the Office of the New York State Comptroller (September 2016).

Prison Corruption - The Problem and Some Potential Solutons: By CAPI (September 2016).

Does Seeking Cell Site Location Information Require a Search Warrant?: Wesley Cheng, Assistant District Attorney at the New York County District Attorney's Office (August 2016). 

Suppressing Bid Rigging - Lessons from Japan: Takaki Sato, Associate at Iwata Godo (Tokyo) (August 2016). 

Warrantless Access to Cell Site Location Information Takes a Hit in the Fourth Circuit - The Implications of United States v. Graham for Law Enforcement: Wesley Cheng, Assistant Attorney General at the New York State Attorney General's Office. (November 2015)

For Now, New York State Investigators Can Ping Cellphones Without a Warrant in New York State: Wesley Cheng, at the Office of the MTA Inspector General, discusses the legality of using Geolocation data without first obtaining judicial authorization in New York State. (January 2015)

False Claims Act: An Inspector General's Best Friend: John Carroll, Senior Investigative Attorney with the New York State Office of the MTA Inspector General, reports on the utility of the False Claims Act. The report details how this civil anti-fraud statute helps ease monetary recovery for the government in cases where contractors have not delivered as promised due to fraud. (November 2014)

Using GPS Devices in Inspector General Investigations after Cunningham v. New York State Department of Labor: Wesley Cheng, at the Office of the MTA Inspector General, authored this report. It details the restrictions on the use of GPS technology as determined in the Cunningham case, as well as the implications for practitioners. (August 2014)

Integrity in Brief

Our series of practice-oriented issue briefs for public integrity practitioners. 

A Diagnostic of Urban Corruption in Mexico - By Paul Lagunes Ph.D., CAPI Advisory Board Member; Ana Grajales, Tomas Nazal (December 2018)

Funding Integrity: Comparing Inspector General Funding Approaches - By CAPI (April 2018)

Seven Additional Principals of Highly Effective Inspectors General - By Glenn Fine, performing the duties of the Acting Inspector General of the United States Department of Defense (February 2018)

Ethical Issues in the Trump Era - By CAPI (December 2017) 

Challenges Facing New Oversight Bodies - By CAPI (August 2017) 

Enforcement Challenges and Victories - By CAPI (July 2017) 

Transparency Trends around the World - By CAPI (July 2017) 

Sports Corruption: The History and Challenges of Anti-Doping Regimes in the U.S. and Abroad- By CAPI (July 2017) 

Data Analytics, The Next Frontier: Taking a Byte Out of Corruption - By CAPI (July 2017) 

Balancing Integrity with Privacy Interests: Fighting Cyber-Corruption with Background Checks - By Robin J. Kempf and Chelsea Binns (July 2017)

Innovations in Oversight: Cities' Proactive Approaches to Fighting Corruption- By CAPI (July 2017) 

Installing a Moral Learning Process: Integity Beyond Traditional Ethics Training - By Julien Topal, Consultant and Trainer with Governance and Integrity (June 2017)  

Seven Principles of Highly Effective Inspectors General - By Glenn Fine, Acting Inspector General of the United States Department of Defense (May 2017)

The Maritime Anti-Corruption Network: A Model for Public-Private Cooperation Against Graft - By Alison Taylor and Martin Benderson, Business for Social Responsibility (January 2017)

New York State's Innovative New Program for Risk Management: Bringing Leading Private Sector Practice to Government - By the Office of New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo (September 2016)

The Integrity Monitor Program: The Role of the Private Sector in City Contract Oversight - By the New York City Department of Investigation (September 2016)

An Honest Day's Work: Regulating State Lawmakers' Outside Income - By CAPI (September 2016)

An Overview of State and Local Anti-Corruption Oversight in the United States - By CAPI (August 2016)

Strategies for Increasing and Improving Public Corruption Prosecutions: The Task Force Model - By CAPI (August 2016)

What is Asset Tracing? A Primer on "Following the Money" for Integrity Practitioners and Policymakers - By CAPI (August 2016)

Mexico City's Citizen Comptroller Program - By Patricio Martínez Llompart, JD Candidate at Columbia Law School, former New York City Urban Fellow and advisor to the Governor of Puerto Rico (August 2016)

Ingredients for an Effective Public Ethics Training Program - By Sabine Romero at the City of Austin, Texas' Office of Innovation and Alicia Olmstead, Senior Ethics Program Advisor at USAA (August 2016)

How to Craft a Powerful Annual Report - By Amy Kurland, Inspector General of the City of Philadelphia (May 2016)

What do Corrupt Firms Have in Common? Red Flags of Corruption in Organizational Culture - By Alison Taylor, Director of the Energy and Extractives Practice, Business for Social Responsibility (April 2016)

Practitioner Toolkits

Tools for integrity pracitioners looking for in-depth guides and case-specific advice.

Practitioner Toolkit: Best Practices in Municipal Oversight (August 2017)

This toolkit details the best practices in municipal oversight. Based on our June 2017, Global Cities II conference, our analysis outlines information from world leaders in public integrity.  

Practitioner Toolkit: A Guide to Commonly Used Federal Statutes in Public Corruption Cases (August 2017)

This toolkit outlines the most commonly used federal statutes to charge the conduct of that we think of as corruption. Think of this toolkit as a chapter entitled "Public Corruption Offenses" for your federal codebook. Our analysis and practice pointers will be help you utilize these statutes to investigate, charge, and litigate these kinds of offenses. 

Practitioner Toolkit: Improving Organizational Culture: How Public Institutions Can Promote Integrity and Prevent Corruption (August 2017)

Based on our twp panel conference in March 2017, this toolkit details how to effectively maneuver barriers that limit change to organizational culture in the public sector. 

Practitioner Toolkit: The Resources of New York's Public Integrity Agencies: Putting Them to Work for You (August 2017)

This toolkit details the resources available on New York's Public Integrity Agencies, and how they can best be used. The report provides guidance based on CAPI's July 20, 2016 conference, which hosted a panel of six representatives from key offices who discussed how the resources of their respective agencies can be used in public integrity investigations and enforcement actions, and offered assistance and advice in obtaining and using such resources.

Practitioner Toolkit: A Guide to Asset Forfeiture in Public Corruption Cases (September 2016)

In this toolkit, Pamela Stanek, Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S.. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio, details the mechanics of civil and criminal asset forfeiture as they relate to public corruption. 

• Report
• Appendix I: Selected State Forfeiture Statutes
• Appendix II: Sample civil forfeiture complaint: United States v. Proceeds of the Sale of a Condominium Located in the Ritz-Carlton in Los Angeles, CA; et al.
• Appendix III: Sample Indictment, Plea Agreement, Motion for Preliminary Order of Forfeiture, and Preliminary Order: United States v. John Bills
• Appendix IV: Sample Seizure Warrant and Affidavit in Support: United States v. Amy Scarpelli
• Appendix V: Sample Plea Agreement with Global Settlement Agreement and Agreed Orders of Forfeiture: United States v. Gregory J. Oldiges

The False Claims Act: A Useful Tool in the Fight Against Public Corruption (August 2016)

In this toolkit, John Carroll, Senior Investigative Attorney at the Office of the Inspector General of the New York State Metropolitan Transportation Authority, explains the nuts-and-bolts of a False Claims Act case and how it can be brought to bear in a public corruption case.

• Report
• Appendix I: Sample Qui Tam False Claims Act Complaint
• Appendix II: Sample Complaint - United States of America v. Golden Gate National Senior Care LLC

Fighting "Small Town" Corruption: How to Obtain Accountability, Oversight,  and Transparency (August 2016)

This toolkit details how small municipalities without the funds to institute a dedicated Inspector General's Office can protect against fraud, waste, and abuse. The report provides guidance on topics including how to author an effective ethics code, cost-effective forms of oversight, and tips for harnessing new technologies to easily increase transparency. 

• Report
• Appendix I: City Ethics Manual for Local Government Ethics Programs
• Appendix II: United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention Anti-Corruption Toolkit
• Appendix III: New York City Local Law No. 33 - Whistleblower Protections
• Appendix IV: CAPI Issue Brief - Ingredients for an Effective Public Ethics Training Program

A Practitioner's Guide to Wiretaps in Public Corruption Investigations (July 2016)

Our first toolkit lays out factors practitioners should take into account when considering a wiretap, and precautions they should take in advance of litigation following a wiretap, especially as it relates to a public corruption case.

• Report
• Appendix I: Sample wiretap application from United States v. Skelos.
• Appendix II: Sample minimization instructions for oral and wire communications.
• Appendix III: State-by-State wiretap requirements. 

Our Community Contribution series is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Laura and John Arnold Foundation. The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of the author’s organization or affiliations, the Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity, Columbia Law School, or the Laura and John Arnold Foundation.

​Our Integrity in Brief series is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Laura and John Arnold Foundation. The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of the author’s organization or affiliations, the Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity, Columbia Law School, or the Laura and John Arnold Foundation.

​Our Practicioner Toolkit series is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Laura and John Arnold Foundation. The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of the author’s organization or affiliations, the Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity, Columbia Law School, or the Laura and John Arnold Foundation.