EDITORIAL HIGHWAY ROBBERY CHP PENSION SCANDAL GOES UNPUNISHED.

THE California Highway Patrol has been taking California taxpayers for a ride.

That's because in an organization charged with making sure we obey the rules of the road, members of the top brass were flouting the laws of the state. They would feign work-related injuries at the end of their careers, then retire with a workers' compensation bonus tacked onto their pensions.

Two years ago, a Sacramento Bee investigation found that 80 percent of CHP chiefs filed workers' comp claims within two years of retiring.

And now a Sacramento County district attorney's investigation has confirmed the rampant abuse. Investigators found that the CHP and the State Compensation Insurance Fund violated state policies by rewarding top cops who took sick leave or retired with workers' comp benefits.

Yet even though it's clear the public has been ripped off, it's unclear anyone is going to be held accountable. Investigators say there's not enough evidence to prosecute anyone.

So, as is all too often the case when it comes to public corruption, the only ones paying the price for this scandal are the taxpayers.

If there's a silver lining, though, it's that over the past two years, under the leadership of Commissioner Michael L. Brown, the CHP has worked to get its house in order. After 603 internal investigations and 16 policy changes, workers' comp claims fell 24 percent last year.

Perhaps now we can hope that the CHP has turned its attention to enforcing the law, rather than breaking it.