A former chief executive officer of Chicago’s first red light camera vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems, Inc., and the company’s customer liaison with the city, were indicted on August 13, 2014, on federal corruption charges together with a retired city official who managed the red light camera program for nearly a decade, after he alone was charged initially in May.
A federal grand jury returned a 23-count indictment alleging that Redflex officials, including KAREN FINLEY, its former CEO, provided the retired city official, JOHN BILLS, with approximately $570,000 cash and other personal benefits in exchange for Bills’ providing inside information and assisting Redflex in obtaining, keeping, and expanding its Chicago contracts that grew to $124 million. Finley and other officials of Phoenix-based Redflex arranged to funnel the cash and benefits to Bills through his friend, MARTIN O’MALLEY, by hiring O’Malley as an independent contractor who passed much of his $2 million compensation on to Bills, the indictment alleges.
The USAO press release and indictment can be read via the links on the right of your screen.