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City Council President Andy Ginther caught up in red-light camera bribe case ( Ohio Democrats )
The Columbus Dispatch ^ | June 19, 2015 | Lucas Sullivan & Darrel Rowland

Posted on 06/19/2015 1:55:50 PM PDT by george76

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.

Records from the U.S. District in Columbus show that from 2005 to 2013, Finley made campaign contributions to elected public officials in Columbus and Cincinnati. The cameras were installed in Columbus in 2006.

...

Redflex, the Arizona-based company providing red-light cameras.

Finley and other Redflex executives agreed to provide the money if the public officials would take actions on their behalf. The company used Columbus lobbyist John Raphael, a former City Council aide, as its conduit for the campaign cash.

Raphael would prepare bogus invoices and get money from the company to funnel to the officials. In exchange, Columbus hired the company in 2005, renewed its contract in 2009 and modified it in 2010. Cincinnati officials also sought a deal with the firm.

(Excerpt) Read more at dispatch.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Arizona; US: Ohio
KEYWORDS: abuseofpower; biggestgangintown; bribe; bribery; cameras; cultureofcorruption; democratscandals; donutwatch; followthemoney; highwayrobbery; redflex; redlight; redlightcamera; redlightcameras

1 posted on 06/19/2015 1:55:50 PM PDT by george76
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To: george76

Poll the public, and every time a significant majority will oppose the stupid things. The fact that they exist at all shows that the government no longer respects the citizenry.


2 posted on 06/19/2015 2:05:50 PM PDT by Fido969
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To: Fido969; Las Vegas Dave

All about revenue, not about safety.


3 posted on 06/19/2015 2:09:04 PM PDT by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: george76

Appears to be one of those cases in which the bribe-giver goes to prison and the bribe taker retires to a life of luxury.


4 posted on 06/19/2015 2:11:14 PM PDT by Steely Tom (Vote GOP: A Slower Handbasket)
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To: george76; ADemocratNoMore; Akron Al; arbee4bush; agrace; ATOMIC_PUNK; Badeye; Bikers4Bush; ...
Pinging the OHIO list!

Ohio Ping!

To be added to the Ohio Ping List, please freepmail (works best)
both LasVegasDave and Flutters.

5 posted on 06/19/2015 2:14:38 PM PDT by Las Vegas Dave (The democ"RAT"ic party preys on the ignorant..!)
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To: george76

Another case of following the $$$$.


6 posted on 06/19/2015 2:16:10 PM PDT by bgill (CDC site, "we still do not know exactly how people are infected with Ebola")
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To: george76

It’s illegal to bribe politicians in OH? Who knew?


7 posted on 06/19/2015 2:19:31 PM PDT by grania
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To: grania

Cooke County had a $2M bribe, haven’t heard how many politicians are involved, think it is still going.


8 posted on 06/19/2015 2:42:24 PM PDT by rstrahan
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To: bgill

They all need to be necklaced. The British take a used tire, and fill it with gasoline and rags. Although armored, this completely cooks the innards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twzr865eWvQ


9 posted on 06/19/2015 2:44:39 PM PDT by The Antiyuppie ("When small men cast long shadows, then it is very late in the day".)
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To: george76

What about those taking the bribes? Have they been indicted, too? From what I gather, ALL the bribe takers were Rats.


10 posted on 06/19/2015 2:45:36 PM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (A free society canÂ’t let the parameters of its speech be set by murderous Islamists.)
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To: george76

Ginther was hand-picked by longtime and current mayor Michael Coleman (D). Before Coleman, there was a long string of Republican Mayors in Columbus back to, I think the late 60s. Now they can’t even field a candidate and I think Coleman has even run unopposed in at least one election - pathetic. Anyway, Ginther won the primary a few weeks ago overwhelmingly. they’ve soaked the local media with his face - someone few ever heard before Coleman’s anointing.


11 posted on 06/19/2015 2:52:16 PM PDT by tang-soo (Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks - Read Daniel Chapter 9)
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To: tang-soo

Isn’t Ginther opposed by the county Sheriff? Is he a D or an R?


12 posted on 06/19/2015 3:14:24 PM PDT by shalom aleichem
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To: tang-soo

3 GOP Mayors in Columbus from 1972-2000. The same Dem Mayor, Jack Sensenbrenner, served from 1954-60 & 1964-72. He was the last Dem before Coleman. Sadly, Columbus/Franklin County has gone to the dark side demographically. Once dependably GOP, it last voted that way for President in 1992. It was one of the few counties to increase its numbers for Zero from 2008 to 2012 (59.6% to 60.5%).


13 posted on 06/19/2015 4:08:53 PM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (Resist We Much)
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To: george76

Corrupt Democrats in Ohio? No!!! Say it isn’t so, and tell me that pigs can fly.

Wait till they investigate Cleveland. They will need another prison just to hold the Democrats.


14 posted on 06/19/2015 4:23:33 PM PDT by MadMax, the Grinning Reaper (madmax)
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To: shalom aleichem

Sheriff Zach Scott is a Dim and lost during the primary. I’m not sure anyone is running against Ginther in November.


15 posted on 06/19/2015 5:42:12 PM PDT by tang-soo (Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks - Read Daniel Chapter 9)
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To: george76

Undoubtedly going on all across the country.


16 posted on 06/20/2015 6:56:39 AM PDT by subterfuge (Minneseeota: the laughingstock of the nation - for lots of reasons!)
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To: george76

Another fact of nature...

Pedophiles are drawn to be school teachers.

Crooks are drawn to elective office.


17 posted on 06/20/2015 8:56:17 AM PDT by Rockitz (This is NOT rocket science - Follow the money and you'll find the truth.)
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To: george76

And 50% of that revenue goes to private firms with political connections.


18 posted on 06/20/2015 2:51:30 PM PDT by a fool in paradise (Funny how Hollywood's 'No Nukes' crowd has been silent during Obama's Iranian nuclear negotiations.)
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To: rstrahan

As if the bribes and kickbacks are only happening in one community that has these things.

There should be a federal investigation into this. Much worse than whether a baseball player took steroids.


19 posted on 06/20/2015 2:52:41 PM PDT by a fool in paradise (Funny how Hollywood's 'No Nukes' crowd has been silent during Obama's Iranian nuclear negotiations.)
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To: MadMax, the Grinning Reaper

It’d be easier to just wall off the city of Cleveland and turn it into a prison. Wouldn’t take all that long to remove the few people that aren’t part of the ‘rat corruption machine before locking the doors.


20 posted on 06/22/2015 3:53:44 AM PDT by chrisser (This space for rent.)
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