Traffic camera firm’s ex-CEO pleads guilty to making bribes

Associated Press

A former chief executive for a Phoenix-based traffic camera company pleaded guilty Friday to bribing public officials to get and keep its contracts in two cities in Ohio.

Prosecutors say 55-year-old Karen Finley of Cave Creek, Arizona, the former chief executive officer of Redflex Traffic Systems, pleaded guilty in Cincinnati to conspiring to commit bribery. Her sentencing date hasn’t yet been scheduled.

Finley also is scheduled to change her plea on Aug. 11 in a separate criminal case in Illinois on allegations she funneled nearly $600,000 in cash and benefits to a retired Chicago official for his help in landing $124 million in city contracts. She had previously pleaded not guilty to those charges.

The amount of the bribes made to officials in Cincinnati and Columbus wasn’t clear. Finley’s plea agreement hasn’t been publicly released.