Good Journalism Doesn't Edit History

To the editor: My wife and I are longtime summer vacationers to Nantucket. Like the Kozlowskis and so many others, we cherish the Nantucket Pharmacy and the charm and history it brings to the community. We’re delighted it will continue to operate. But to criticize The Current for noting that Dennis Kozlowski served six years in prison, for one of the most notorious financial crimes in history, is seriously misplaced.

I come from New Hampshire—the very area where Tyco was once headquartered. Mr. Kozlowski is well remembered there, and, I regret to note, not fondly. The crimes he and his associates committed were among the most egregious on Wall Street - or Main Street - and had a deep impact on our state, its people, as well as the entire U.S. financial markets. They siphoned off hundreds of millions of dollars for themselves while shareholders, retirees, and pensioners lost billions in stock value. Jobs were destroyed, livelihoods upended, and small businesses crumbled.

For The Current to omit or downplay that history would be a disservice to the principles of sound journalism and to the countless people who suffered from those actions - most of whom could never afford a week in Nantucket, much less own a business here. Journalists have an obligation to the truth, not to comfort or revisionism.

I wish the Kozlowskis well in their new venture and their life ahead. But no amount of philanthropy or public contrition can erase the scale of what was done. The Current was right to remind readers of that history—that’s simply good journalism. I commend The Current and urge it to continue resisting any pressure to sanitize the past for the sake of convenience, sentiment, or special interest.

Mark M. Bodi
Portsmouth, New Hampshire