Former red light camera CEO pleads guilty to bribery, fraud in Ohio

[tangent4ronpaul]

Redflex ex-CEO Karen Finley also to plead guilty in Chicago case in August 2015.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2...fraud-in-ohio/

A former CEO of Redflex, the embattled red light camera vendor, has pleaded guilty to bribery and wire fraud in Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio. In December 2013, Ars reported on red light cameras nationwide, and in particular, Redflex's four cameras in the central California town of Modesto.

Karen Finley was indicted on related charges in August 2014 in Chicago. She pleaded not guilty, and had been set to go to trial in October 2015. But new court filings show she is now scheduled to change her plea in August 2015.

As prosecutors wrote in a statement on Friday:

From December 2005 to February 2013, Finley served as CEO of a red light camera enforcement company. As part of her plea agreement, Finley admitted that, between 2005 and 2013, she participated in a scheme in which the company made campaign contributions to elected public officials in the cities of Columbus and Cincinnati through a consultant retained by the company. According to admissions made in connection with her plea, Finley and others, including another executive of the company, agreed to provide the conduit campaign contributions with the understanding that the elected public officials would assist the company in obtaining or retaining municipal contracts, including a photo red light enforcement contract with the City of Columbus. Finley also admitted she and her co-conspirators concealed the true nature and source of the payments by the consultant’s submission and the company’s payment of false invoices for “consulting services,” which funds the consultant then provided to the campaigns of the elected public officials.
(cont)

-t

[acptulsa]

People tend to think of bribery affecting which company will get the contract to do something a government is going to do anyway.

It's past time for us to bring into the national conversation the fact that bribery is being used to get things that governments weren't going to do, and things the people don't want done, onto the agendas of those governments. And we're talking about 'bribes' not only from the suppliers, but from Washington--our federal taxes taken from us and used by federal bureaucracies to induce our own cities to do things we don't want them to do.

[luctor-et-emergo]

Good. I don't even think my hatred for traffic camera's is the major issue here..

Fraudulent/corrupt schemes actually being prosecuted, I like.

[tangent4ronpaul]

Good. I don't even think my hatred for traffic camera's is the major issue here..

Fraudulent/corrupt schemes actually being prosecuted, I like.

I don't either. The depressing thing here is that they will probably just replace then with a different traffic camera company. These things bring in a lot of revenue for the states.

-t

[surf]

i'm sure most of us here know this, but if you've ever read one of these contracts these companies have with the cities you would see the ample motivation dishonest and evil people would have for keeping these contracts.

in other words, there's a reason that such a reputable company as Goldman invested in at least one of these companies....

[Dr.3D]

So if she is guilty of bribery, wouldn't those who accepted the bribes be guilty of taking a bribe?

[tod evans]

So if she is guilty of bribery, wouldn't those who accepted the bribes be guilty of taking a bribe?

No doubt!

Who's walking?

[Dr.3D]

No doubt!

Who's walking?

Seems there needs to be an investigation as to who the elected public officials in the cities of Columbus and Cincinnati were.

Of course if they were unaware of the bribe, then it wasn't really a bribe was it?

[tod evans]

Seems there needs to be an investigation as to who the elected public officials in the cities of Columbus and Cincinnati were.

Of course if they were unaware of the bribe, then it wasn't really a bribe was it?

This would be yet another case of asking the police to police the police........

Give the first thousand people ticketed by these machines judiciary powers and it's possible something might be done...

[Dr.3D]

This would be yet another case of asking the police to police the police........

Give the first thousand people ticketed by these machines judiciary powers and it's possible something might be done...

If she hadn't pleaded guilty, they would have had to prove the charges and thus provide both sides of the bribery scheme.

Do you suppose the bribed ones got to her and "convinced" her to plead guilty thus eliminating a trial and all those implications?

[tod evans]

If she hadn't pleaded guilty, they would have had to prove the charges and thus provide both sides of the bribery scheme.

Do you suppose the bribed ones got to her and "convinced" her to plead guilty thus eliminating a trial and all those implications?

All they had to do was walk down the hall and talk to their second cousin the DA...........

[tangent4ronpaul]

Seems there needs to be an investigation as to who the elected public officials in the cities of Columbus and Cincinnati were.

Of course if they were unaware of the bribe, then it wasn't really a bribe was it?

I just clipped the top of thee article. It's CA and IL and I think some other places too.

-t

[robert9712000]

They are actually if not already passing a law here in ohio that will pretty much make traffic cameras in ohio pointless. It states that a officer has to be present to issue a ticket even with a camera citation.

[oyarde]

So if she is guilty of bribery, wouldn't those who accepted the bribes be guilty of taking a bribe?

That would be the important part of this .

[enhanced_deficit]

Redflex ex-CEO Karen Finley also to plead guilty in Chicago case in August 2015.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2...fraud-in-ohio/

A former CEO of Redflex, the embattled red light camera vendor, has pleaded guilty to bribery and wire fraud in Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio. In December 2013, Ars reported on red light cameras nationwide, and in particular, Redflex's four cameras in the central California town of Modesto.

Karen Finley was indicted on related charges in August 2014 in Chicago. She pleaded not guilty, and had been set to go to trial in October 2015. But new court filings show she is now scheduled to change her plea in August 2015.

As prosecutors wrote in a statement on Friday:

From December 2005 to February 2013, Finley served as CEO of a red light camera enforcement company. As part of her plea agreement, Finley admitted that, between 2005 and 2013, she participated in a scheme in which the company made campaign contributions to elected public officials in the cities of Columbus and Cincinnati through a consultant retained by the company. According to admissions made in connection with her plea, Finley and others, including another executive of the company, agreed to provide the conduit campaign contributions with the understanding that the elected public officials would assist the company in obtaining or retaining municipal contracts, including a photo red light enforcement contract with the City of Columbus. Finley also admitted she and her co-conspirators concealed the true nature and source of the payments by the consultant’s submission and the company’s payment of false invoices for “consulting services,” which funds the consultant then provided to the campaigns of the elected public officials.
(cont)

-t

Glad that supporters of self-serving hack squad are being held accountable. But how is this different than Obama handing out ambassadorships/bail outs to those who funded his election campaign?

[ghengis86]

If she hadn't pleaded guilty, they would have had to prove the charges and thus provide both sides of the bribery scheme.

Do you suppose the bribed ones got to her and "convinced" her to plead guilty thus eliminating a trial and all those implications?

Ding ding ding, we have a winner!

She falls on her sword, the pols taking the bribes play dumb and feign outrage, there's a show for the serfs who can feel good that they nabbed the dirty CEO...and nothing changes.

Same as it ever was.

[Danke]

Ex-CEO of red light camera firm sentenced to 14 months for bribery

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2...t-camera-case/