Jury Finds Chicago Official Guilty of Bribery in Red-Light Camera Scandal

Editor's note: Your ProbateShark is reminded of a bumper sticker viewed many years ago. "Cats, so many, so few recipes."  Soon, very soon, the many probate court gangsters may also be "walking outside of the Federal Building".  Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com

 

Jury Finds Chicago Official Guilty of Bribery in Red-Light Camera Scandal

Former assistant transportation commissioner found guilty of receiving cash in exchange for helping Redflex Traffic Systems win contracts

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John Bills, a former Chicago transportation official, walked outside the federal building in Chicago on Tuesday. PHOTO: JAMES FOSTER/ASSOCIATED PRESS

By 

MARK PETERS

Jan. 26, 2016 5:37 p.m. ET

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CHICAGO—A former city transportation official was found guilty Tuesday in a bribery scheme tied to Chicago’s controversial red-light camera program.

A jury found John Bills, former assistant transportation commissioner, guilty of fraud, bribery and extortion charges for receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and perks in exchange for helping Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. build Chicago’s red-light ticketing system into the one of the largest in the nation.

The guilty verdict comes less than a year after former Redflex Chief Executive Karen Finley pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery in the case.

Over the past decade, red-light cameras have spread rapidly across the country as a way to catch drivers who run stoplights. Public officials embraced the technology as a way to improve traffic safety by reducing accidents. But the cameras have faced growing backlash, including here where their use became an issue for Mayor Rahm Emanuel as he ran for re-election last year.

One of the companies behind the expansion of the cameras nationally has been Redflex Traffic Systems, a subsidiary of Redflex Holdings Ltd., based in Australia. The company won contracts in Chicago, first in 2003 and then again 2008, that prosecutors have said cost the city $131 million.

Prosecutors said Redflex turned to Mr. Bills for help in winning the contracts. They said that as assistant transportation commissioner for the city, he was on the evaluation committee for the first contract and used his influence to help the company expand its operation over nearly a decade. In exchange, Mr. Bills received more than $600,000 in cash, meals, trips and a condominium in Arizona.

Mr. Bills “deprived the city of Chicago of money and honest services,” said Zachary Fardon, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

Nishay Sanan, Mr. Bills’s lawyer, argued that his client wasn’t in a position to have such influence over the red-light camera contracts, saying the scheme instead involved elected officials. But federal prosecutors have said there is no evidence of wrongdoing by elected officials.

Mr. Sanan said the verdict was disappointing and he would continue fighting through the appeals process for Mr. Bills. The 54-year-old faces a maximum of 304 years in prison, federal officials said.

The red-light scandal has stretched beyond Chicago. Ms. Finley, in addition to the guilty plea in Chicago, pleaded guilty to a bribery scheme in Ohio last year. Prosecutors said the company from 2005 to 2013 provided campaign contributions through a consultant to elected officials in the cities of Columbus and Cincinnati in exchange for assistance in winning city contracts.

Redflex said in a statement Tuesday that the company named new leadership three years ago and made changes in corporate policy, while also cooperating with the government in Mr. Bills’s case.

—Ben Kesling contributed to this article.

Charges filed against ex-City Hall manager of red-light camera program

•   Editor's note: FEDs; Please note that we have a small army of Sharks and Sharkettes who would willingly testify against the crooks in the Probate Court of Cook County.  At a drop of flipper they would point a fin at the perps.  Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com              

Charges filed against ex-City Hall manager of red-light camera program

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John Bills
Former city official John Bills watches the White Sox-Royals game at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. (John J. Kim, Chicago Tribune /April 4, 2013)

By David KidwellTribune reporter

3:53 p.m. CDT, May 14, 2014

The former City Hall manager who ran Chicago’s red-light camera program was arrested today on federal charges related to the investigation of an alleged $2 million bribery scheme involving the city’s longtime vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems.

A federal complaint filed in U.S. District Court today accused John Bills of taking money and other benefits related to the contract with Redlfex. Mayor Rahm Emanuel fired  the company amid the bribery scandal.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Phoenix-based Redflex funneled cash and other benefits, including an Arizona condominium, to Bills since before the contract was signed in 2003.

The Tribune first revealed questions about a questionable relationship between Bills and Redflex in the fall of 2012, triggering a scandal that has shaken the foundation of the company and its Australian parent, Redflex Holdings Ltd., which acknowledged last year that its Chicago program was built on what federal authorities would likely consider a $2 million bribery scheme involving Bills. Six top Redflex officials were jettisoned, and the company has come under scrutiny for its procurement practices across the country.

• Related
• Red-light firm admits likely bribed official
• Ex-Redflex employee tells of secret meetings
• Redflex loses bids amid Chicago scandal
• Emanuel: Speed cameras a 'go' despite Redflex
• The full story: Tribune investigates Redflex
• PDF: City rejects Redflex proposal

 

The criminal complaint alleges that Bills sought a bribe from Redflex during pre-bid discussions over the contract, which grew to be worth more than $100 million to the company and has raked in about $300 million in tickets for the city.

Bills was charged with one count of bribery, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He was escorted in handcuffs into a federal courtroom in Chicago by U.S. marshals shortly before the 3:15 p.m. hearing, dressed in a checkered polo shirt and tan pants.
Bills stood with his hands folded in front of him as the allegations were read in court. When asked if he understood, Bills quietly said, "I do."
Bills was ordered released on a $4,500 unsecured bond, meaning he won't have to post anything.
Bills declined to comment outside the courtroom. His attorney, Nishay Sanan, said after the hearing that Bills is being made a scapegoat by federal authorities who want him to implicate others in the scandal, but Bills won't do it. Sanan said Bills did not have the power to single-handedly control the contract and he was only one vote in a unanimous selection of Redflex.

Federal investigators allege that a personal friend of Bills, identified as Individual A, was paid over $2 million in salary and bonuses as part of the scheme and acted as a conduit between Bills and the company.

A former Redflex employee cooperating with federal investigators said he and his superiors “had explicit conversations about Individual A serving as a conduit to get money to Bills in return for Bills’ help in getting Redflex the city of Chicago contract, and for Bills’ help in ensuring that Redflex’s contract would potentially be expanded and renewed in the future,” according to the complaint.

Redflex has previously identified their Chicago consultant as Martin O’Malley, and the Tribune reported previously that he and Bills were longtime friends. O’Malley has denied any wrongdoing.

The complaint also described a February 2003 meeting between Bills and Redflex officials at the John Hancock Center, first disclosed by the Tribune in February, during which Bills discussed specific ways Redflex could be awarded the contract.

The Redflex scandal erupted in October 2012, after the Tribune obtained a 2-year-old internal Redflex whistleblower memo by an ousted vice president that detailed the alleged bribery scheme and lavish company-paid vacations for Bills and suggested "the level of this insider fraud would take down the contract and most likely the company."

At first Redflex disputed much of the memo, saying it thoroughly investigated the allegations internally and found them without merit except for one hotel stay for Bills at the Arizona Biltmore in 2010 that was inadvertently paid by Redflex. Company officials said their failure to notify City Hall at the time was an "oversight and a lapse."

But fallout from the news reports prompted Redflex to commission a second internal investigation, this time by former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman. Hoffman's probe, completed last March, confirmed the allegations in the 2010 whistleblower memo and expanded upon them, the company said in its summary of Hoffman's investigation filed with the Australian Securities Exchange.

Hoffman identified 17 company-paid trips for Bills -- including airfare, hotels, rental cars, golf outings and meals, according to the filing.

Hoffman also found that Redflex paid its Chicago consultant, who has personal ties to Bills, more than $2 million, the company said . The "highly suspicious" arrangement between Redflex, the consultant and Bills "will likely be considered bribery by the authorities," the company said.

Bills retired in 2011 after a 30-year city career that saw him rise from a streetlight lamp maintenance worker to the deputy managing commissioner of the Transportation Department under former Mayor Richard M. Daley. He was a longtime top precinct captain in the political operation of House Speaker Michael Madigan.

The criminal complaint alleges that Bills sought a bribe from Redflex during pre-bid discussions over the contract, which grew to be worth more than $100 million to the company and has raked in about $300 million in tickets for the city.

Bills was charged with one count of bribery, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He was escorted in handcuffs into a federal courtroom in Chicago by U.S. marshals shortly before the 3:15 p.m. hearing, dressed in a checkered polo shirt and tan pants.
Bills stood with his hands folded in front of him as the allegations were read in court. When asked if he understood, Bills quietly said, "I do."
Bills was ordered released on a $4,500 unsecured bond, meaning he won't have to post anything.
Bills declined to comment outside the courtroom. His attorney, Nishay Sanan, said after the hearing that Bills is being made a scapegoat by federal authorities who want him to implicate others in the scandal, but Bills won't do it. Sanan said Bills did not have the power to single-handedly control the contract and he was only one vote in a unanimous selection of Redflex.

Federal investigators allege that a personal friend of Bills, identified as Individual A, was paid over $2 million in salary and bonuses as part of the scheme and acted as a conduit between Bills and the company.

A former Redflex employee cooperating with federal investigators said he and his superiors “had explicit conversations about Individual A serving as a conduit to get money to Bills in return for Bills’ help in getting Redflex the city of Chicago contract, and for Bills’ help in ensuring that Redflex’s contract would potentially be expanded and renewed in the future,” according to the complaint.

Redflex has previously identified their Chicago consultant as Martin O’Malley, and the Tribune reported previously that he and Bills were longtime friends. O’Malley has denied any wrongdoing.

The complaint also described a February 2003 meeting between Bills and Redflex officials at the John Hancock Center, first disclosed by the Tribune in February, during which Bills discussed specific ways Redflex could be awarded the contract.

The Redflex scandal erupted in October 2012, after the Tribune obtained a 2-year-old internal Redflex whistleblower memo by an ousted vice president that detailed the alleged bribery scheme and lavish company-paid vacations for Bills and suggested "the level of this insider fraud would take down the contract and most likely the company."

At first Redflex disputed much of the memo, saying it thoroughly investigated the allegations internally and found them without merit except for one hotel stay for Bills at the Arizona Biltmore in 2010 that was inadvertently paid by Redflex. Company officials said their failure to notify City Hall at the time was an "oversight and a lapse."

But fallout from the news reports prompted Redflex to commission a second internal investigation, this time by former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman. Hoffman's probe, completed last March, confirmed the allegations in the 2010 whistleblower memo and expanded upon them, the company said in its summary of Hoffman's investigation filed with the Australian Securities Exchange.

Hoffman identified 17 company-paid trips for Bills -- including airfare, hotels, rental cars, golf outings and meals, according to the filing.

Hoffman also found that Redflex paid its Chicago consultant, who has personal ties to Bills, more than $2 million, the company said . The "highly suspicious" arrangement between Redflex, the consultant and Bills "will likely be considered bribery by the authorities," the company said.

Bills retired in 2011 after a 30-year city career that saw him rise from a streetlight lamp maintenance worker to the deputy managing commissioner of the Transportation Department under former Mayor Richard M. Daley. He was a longtime top precinct captain in the political operation of House Speaker Michael Madigan.