Not so crazy after all.

• Author: Schwab, Robert
• Position: Rschwab@cobizmag.com

SO MAYBE JOHN ASHCROFT ISN'T SO CRAZY AFTER ALL.

At least not when it comes to corporate crime.

A year ago I questioned the U.S. attorney general's intelligence after he questioned the loyalty of Americans who might criticize the government.

But late in February, on the front pages of Colorado newspapers, there stood Ashcroft and U.S. Attorney for Colorado John Suthers announcing criminal indictments of executives from Qwest Communications International.

The indicted men, federal prosecutors said, had fraudulently reported Qwest revenues in a way that may have hurt the company's investors.

"We will protect the integrity of our markets by punishing those who falsify financial information out of sheer greed," Ashcroft said. Now that's something our nation's highest ranking law enforcement officer ought to be saying every day. What brought me back to Ashcroft, however, is the man who was standing beside him under the headlines, John Suthers.

Suthers, as U.S. Attorney for Colorado, is the highest ranking law enforcement officer in the state, and he spoke about anti-terrorism measures that affect business exports at a seminar last month at Denver law firm Holland & Hart.

He had no doubt that Colorado businesses should be cautious about running afoul of new laws that control exports of U.S.-made goods. "Be extremely diligent," Suthers said. "We're serious about this war on terrorism." Another speaker said fines for infractions start--yes, start--at $500,000.

But what caught my ear in Suthers' talk was something he said at the opening. The "most unfortunate" thing about the Patriot Act, he said, was its name. That and the moment when Suthers' boss, Ashcroft, had opined that anyone who criticized the law must not be patriotic. "I happen not to believe that," Suthers said.

He does believe the new law was necessary to update...