LETTERS: Lucero, value-added tax and more

Lucero verdict sends wrong message

Obviously murder, and not the lesser charge of manslaughter, would have been the correct charge "Conroy guilty of manslaughter as hate crime," newsday.com, April 19]. Jeffrey Conroy and his buddies went out searching for innocent Latinos to assault; it was premeditated!

You don't use a knife or another weapon on someone and expect it to be a minor injury. I'm happy with the verdict of guilty, but not with the charge. It is sending a wrong message to our communities.

Virginia J. Ciccotto

Massapequa Park

VAT would tap vast underground economy

We've all heard about the "underground" economy - we're all guilty of participating in it every time we take advantage of a "great deal by paying cash" . Why would paying cash get you a better deal than by paying with a check? Obviously it's because the recipient (contractor, supplier, etc.) is not going to report that income. And what about all the unreported income that's generated by illegal activities, including gambling, drug dealing and prostitution? Estimates have been made that the underground economy may be as large as the legitimate economy!

A value-added tax would bring the underground economy out into the open as the money generated from the above activities is then spent on goods and services at retail, where the VAT tax has been included in the price.

Regarding the regressive nature of the tax, a simple way to alleviate that is to provide for a federal refund for persons who document a gross income below a certain threshold.

Barry Small

Dix Hills

Praise the biologists

What kinds of lessons could we really learn from the sad death of the young humpback whale that washed up in East Hampton? That there's no template to follow when we have to diagnose and treat a 25-ton animal that can't communicate and sits out of our reach in breaking surf?

I was disappointed in Ellis Henican's column . Yes, three days passed and it was difficult for everyone standing on the beach and watching the whale suffer. But no more so than for the biologists of the Riverhead Foundation who have dedicated their lives to rescuing marine mammals. Without their expertise, I can just imagine crowds of people trying to push that poor animal back into the surf, or shooting their guns senselessly into its thick hide. It takes time to observe the behavior of an animal who can't tell you what's wrong. It takes time to gather the experts. Thank you Riverhead Foundation - we're lucky to have you.

Kerri Glynn

Setauket