Former City Official Gets 10 Years In Red Light Camera Bribery Case
CHICAGO (AP) -- A former Chicago transportation official has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after he was convicted of taking bribes to steer $100 million in red-light camera contracts to a company in Phoenix.
U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall sentenced John Bills on Monday in Chicago. Federal prosecutors had asked the judge for at least a 10-year prison sentence.
The former second-in-command at Chicago's Department of Transportation was convicted in January of bribery, conspiracy and extortion.
Bills was accused of accepting envelopes stuffed with cash, along with gifts -- including condos in two states and a Mercedes -- to help Redflex Traffic Systems obtain contracts in a decade-long scheme.
Bills' attorney, Nishay Sanan, had asked for a more lenient three-to-four year sentence.
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