How to beat the rap

Still another prosecutor has looked into the conflicting testimony, mutual jabs, sloppy bookkeeping, and just plain mess that has been the administration of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and its "advancement" division. This prosecutor, Larry Jegley in Pulaski County, found nothing to prosecute. That was after examining the whole, acrimonious jumble that was the top administrators' testimony before a legislative panel that tried to get to the bottom of this bottomless mess.

According to Counselor Jegley's statement, the school's chancellor (G. David Gearhart) and his decidedly former spokesman (John Diamond) may have presented "differing versions" of events, but "none rise to meet the standards meriting further action" under the state's laws against perjury.

Call this latest (and let's hope final) installment of The Fayetteville Follies a not quite clean bill of health. The prosecutor's judicious statement (he's quite a master of understatement) brings to mind the proud claim of a worn old reporter we once knew who said no one would doubt his integrity because he was below suspicion.

There are certain advantages in being so petty, quarrelsome and generally irresponsible that you're not worth bothering with.

Editorial on 06/10/2014

Upcoming Events