I have no idea whether, as mayor of Boston, Kevin White took cash bribes or connived with Boston University to extort a payment from John Hancock (“The Kevin White legacy after release of FBI files,” Op-ed, Dec. 9). Joan Vennochi has no idea either, but she repeats those allegations anyway, although generations of prosecutors apparently felt that they could not be proved.

Why is it considered useful to print corrosive charges that you haven’t bothered to investigate or even evaluate?