Former Chicago city official John Bills, 53, is accused of colluding with Karen Finley, 54, the former CEO of the “red light camera” company Redflex Traffic Systems, and an intermediary to expand the company’s contracts in Chicago.
Bills, who was a manager in the city’s transportation department and a member of the committee awarding traffic camera contracts until his 2011 retirement, allegedly received $570,000 in cash and other benefits from Redflex Traffic Systems, according to the Northern Illinois US District Attorney’s Office.
In addition to cash, Bills allegedly received meals, hotel stays, golf trips, a condominium in Arizona, and a job at a nonprofit corporation funded by Redflex.
The indictment alleges that Redflex employees including Finley funneled the benefits to Bills through his friend Martin O’Malley, 73, who worked for Redflex as an independent contractor from 2003 to 2012.
Bills and Finley were each charged with nine counts of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud and three counts of bribery. Bills was also charged with three counts of filing a false federal income tax return and one count of extortion. Bills, Finley and O’Malley were all charged with one count of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery.
Since 2003, Redflex has been Chicago’s provider and operator of red light cameras, which automatically record and ticket drivers running red lights. The company has received US$ 124 million in Chicago contracts and has the largest red light camera system in the US, according to the District Attorney’s office.
Chicago banned Redflex from bidding on camera contracts last year, the Chicago Tribune reports. The city’s red light cameras are now operated by Xerox.
