Incompetence or criminal?

To the editor:This is an open letter to the government of New Hampshire.As one of the victims of the FRM fraud, I have very strong feelings about the role played — or, more accurately stated, not played — by the state of New Hampshire.Those of you in government are more concerned with image than doing what is right. There is no other entity that so efficiently insulates itself from accountability than government. Government can study an issue like this one to death, talk about doing something so that it never happens again, add another oversight group, hope it goes away if it dithers enough over time — and the list goes on.God forbid that you should ever step up and be held accountable for your actions or inactions to those that have been harmed. Government is supposed to be responsible for the wellbeing of those it governs. When people are hurt or damaged by the action or inaction of government, then government is derelict in its duty.Maybe the real damage that has been done by New Hampshire by virtue of its inaction over many years has not been recognized or looked at in human terms. Maybe things — a suicide, loss of life savings, an emotional and mental toll that cannot be measured as well as the loss of millions of dollars — is not something that those in government want to think about, let alone face. The very last thing government wants to accept is that it is, in large part, responsible.The government of New Hampshire knew for many, many years that there was a problem, a serious problem, with FRM and did nothing. In the part of the world not inhabited by government it is called incompetence. As a consequence, a great many more people were victimized and suffered than would have been if the state did its job. It could have been and should have been stopped a long time ago.When does incompetence that goes on for many years, leaving a wake of fraud and human suffering in its path, become criminal?There is a fundamental tenet of the law that requires that things need to stand the test of reason. It is requested that you give some thought to these points, as distasteful as they might be. There is no doubt in my mind that the state of New Hampshire can come up with many reasons why it should not step up and be held accountable, but at the end of the day it is responsible.What has transpired should make the good people of the great state of New Hampshire ashamed of their government.Bob LevintanBroad Brook, Conn.