We used to be a High Trust society.
We used to laugh at other countries with corrupt officials.
We used to be better than this.
“...from four unnamed contractors..”
This is a joke. If the money was not handed over from someone, you can’t have a bribe without a person doing it. If thee were ignored points of safety or security that did not get it done and were approved, and they had to know the process was under the table against the law, then if they follow the money trail, it will lead right to the giver for the other half of the transactions. Did the money come out of a bank at each job site, or was it paid for with trips to Atlantic City by someone. Even the web has a trail. Look under the carpet.
wy69
...and I’d bet you a dollar that no one on East Hampton is wondering why the existing process can be whittled from months to hours.
Bribery is why leftists love regulations.
so that the builders could sidestep the months-long approval process
Government officials create months-long processes as a way to extort bribes. Sometimes they extort public improvements and fees (beyond what the applicants project creates a need for). Sometimes they want cash for themselves or their gang. Sometimes both.
The permitting process has become a racket by the bloated bureaucracy. So this is just a case of the gangster state defending its turf.
Since both venues are corrupt, expect more people going the corrupt who gets things done fast.
Really? Ya don't say? LOL. The one function of government where you can be absolutely sure that employees are taking bribes is in permitting. Prostitution may be the oldest profession, but the very first government bribe given when government was first created thousands of years ago was to get a permit.