As well as using the Ohio Democratic party as the bagman.
A former chief executive officer of the red-light camera company Redflex has pleaded guilty to bribing Columbus elected officials – including Council President Andrew Ginther – through the Ohio Democratic Party to install the cameras and keep them operating in the city.
Karen L. Finley, 55, of Cave Creek, Ariz., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery,according a press release from Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.
Imagine that. Imagine that. How could it possibly be that a company might think that there was enough money in the installation of automatic traffic ticket generators that it’d be worth bribing city officials to do it? And a real cheap one, too: apparently, in 2011 you could have bought the Ohio Democratic party for forty thousand dollars. More
Oh, this was once a HUGE issue in Alaska back in the 90s when Mark Begich – surprise surprise- played a role in getting a photo radar program going here. They told people it was “for the children” and it would only be during school hours and at school areas. That turned out to be a gigantic lie and pretty soon there were people all over with signs warning, “Photo radar ahead.” Cameras were set up anywhere and everywhere.
People were so angry about it–especially the sweet deal the company got: 75% of ticketing revenue went to the company and Anchorage got 25. Ticketed drivers had to pay $10 per mile over the limit they were driving plus a $10 fee and points on licenses. If you got a ticket in the mail you were to fill out the form, write in your driver’s license number (which the issuing agency had no way to obtain if you didn’t provide it) and mail it in. People began refusing to supply their numbers and even to pay the tickets. It went to court and was appealed–it dragged on for quite awhile, by which time some had begun egging the machines, which were supposedly independently operational but required a police officer to babysit it. Someone tossing a tomato broke a machine, which was then sent back to Arizona I think it was. They were going to fix and return it but the company basically had enough with the ornery Alaskans and the yearlong contract was nearly over anyway.
The court ruled it against it in the end, tickets were dismissed and we haven’t had it since. On a trip to DC, though, I noticed they had it, well in Maryland at least, and I couldn’t believe how easily people accepted it.
A little more about our experience with this menace.
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/27/2788.asp
Always, always, always follow the money! If there’s a company waving a dollar bill around to sell a product, there’ll be a political hack nearby drooling to pocket it.
Yeah, the judge saw that the company profited such a high percentage that they would say anything to keep their little scam rolling.
What I don’t get is how flipping Anchorage rewarded that git (Begich) by later voting him in as mayor. He left the city in bad shape financially.
That’s why I like small town America. We have 7 traffic lights. After 8 pm they blink red in both directions.
I’ve heard countless arguments on the radio over this and the hacks ALWAYS justify it with “safety” and so-called statistics to back it up and deny that it has anything to do with revenue, yet if the Red Light Cams don’t make money, they get removed. Say helloooooo to nasty little facts you cheap, lousy, corrupt, bought and paid for worms!
I sat at a stop sign one time waiting for it to turn green. That was some good shit.
Two years ago I posted the story of the speed camera in front of a nearby high school that was firebombed. It happened a second time and they caught the kid who did it with a remote camera set up inside the school.
Anyway – the camera isn’t there anymore.
Will be moving in the next few years to a town like that. Currently our choices include towns with about 2-5 traffic lights. The county has only one big city and we will be avoiding that one!
Except for the intersection with I-95, my town has only five traffic lights. ‘Ray!!
Best advice is just to stay out of
the red-light district.
Our town has one flashing light where the state highway crosses the federal highway. Don’t know if there are any cameras, there, but I kinda doubt it.
MD had them at just about every intersection. Waldorf, Clinton, Oxon Hill, Upper Marlboro, Marlow Heights, Hillcrest Heights, Temple Hills – and even if you came to a complete stop, but crossed the line – you got a massive ticket. All the yellows were reduced to about 3 seconds. I’m sure that the red-light companies are paying off the Charles County, PG, and MD “officials” big time.
I remember, waaay back in the day . . .
I wonder how that time frame jives with the administration of Sarah Palin.
My town doesn’t have a traffic light but on the way in there is one of the NSA spy cams.
This was in the 90s, when she was getting going in Wasilla. She was on the city council first, and at this time (above) I believe she was mayor.
We don’t have any. Just stop signs.