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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| Bribe wasn't big enough, so city inspector's conviction overturned |
| 2012-10-13 |
| Dominick Owens, 46, twice took bribes of $600 to issue certifications of occupancy for four newly constructed homes he hadn't inspected, a jury found following a trial in November. Originally suspected of taking more than $20,000 in bribes in 2005 and 2006, he was sentenced in March by Judge Blanche M. Manning to a year and a day in federal prison. But the sentence was reversed Thursday in a ruling issued by the Seventh Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals. Justices ruled that Owens should not have been convicted because prosecutors didn't prove the bribes he took were worth more than $5,000, as the law requires. In their appeal, Owens' attorneys did not dispute he took the two $600 bribes for homes on West 37th Place and on North Wolcott. Instead they argued that the certificates weren't worth $5,000. Circuit Judges William Bauer, Richard Posner and Diane Pamela Wood agreed. In an opinion written by Bauer, they said that there were two ways to determine what the certificates were worth. There was the black market value of what someone was prepared to pay for one, which, at $600, was well below the $5,000 threshold, and there was what benefit the certificate would provide to the homeowners who greased his palm. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #13 Uncle Phester - I didn't say the inspectors in DuPage took bribes... I said they enjoyed putting folks in a position where they would offer and could then be busted. As to DuPage Co. bldg dept... you guys drove me and my architect damn near nutz in the mid-90s with layout issues and the like. None which actually helped make a better addition. (I doubled the size of the house.) The stuff they should have got anal with my contractors about they didn't and the stuff they did caused glitchyness I still curse daily. In addition I still remember the fine (cough) job they did designing the first courthouse building themselves... so well that it was a seriously "sick" building that took millions of taxpayer dollars and some major architects to make right. Yes compared to Cook you guys are saints but your constraints are kind of crazy. Example: I am 6' 4" and my wife 5'3"- your code people wouldn't let me and the wife have a bathroom counter at two different heights - one sized for me. So when I wash my hands I get water splashes on my crotch (I can't really bend that low...) Or I was encouraged to choose "organic" shingles... we know how well that product turned out... And ... the roads dept ruined my ditch drainage when the re-did the road so now my side yard floods all the time. I understand why the department wanted my cement raised at the back end of my garage (to prevent gas from ever flowing in the basement) but it sure makes it friking hard to move about and position generators, saws and other large tools. |
| Posted by: Water Modem 2012-10-13 19:09 |
| #12 I "enjoy the privilege" of sending Cook County a check twice a year....wanna trade...? ;-> Posted by Uncle Phester This part of Georgia has other issues UP, such as rampant crime and |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-10-13 12:25 |
| #11 Uncle P, at least you work outside the 'City' and wouldn't be subject to Alderman Roderick Sawyer's 'Work Commuter Tax' (or fee, if you want to be PC). |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2012-10-13 11:58 |
| #10 'soeker - no disrespect taken; our personnel are seriously ragged about property taxes twice a year. Of course, the dolts only look a the bottom line without taking a moment to see where the $ are going, mostly to the "Institution of Liberal Indoctrination", OKA Schools... I "enjoy the privilege" of sending Cook County a check twice a year....wanna trade...? ;-> |
| Posted by: Uncle Phester 2012-10-13 10:40 |
| #9 Water Modem - I don't see your friend needing judges to get him off 160 mph motorcycle speeding tickets for all that long; Darwin will judge and can't be bribed. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2012-10-13 10:24 |
| #8 Well, no dispepct intended and I'm sure you're a straight shooter Uncle P, but I'd come out of retirement if I could get one of those DuPage County Forest Preserve jobs like Bill Maio. I'd even settle for a Life Guard job at The Quarry for Blll's retirement pension. Perhaps I'll just have to settle for knowing I'm not paying DuPage Co. property taxes. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-10-13 09:42 |
| #7 Water Modem - we don't all play that way. I'm, er, affiliated with a Building Department in DuPage County and can guarantee to you that any proof of a bribe would result in (eventually) being shown the exit irrespective of $ or "gift" value. Have been offered a few to make things "go away," but have never accepted. Looking the "offeree" straight in the eye and asking "Are you offering me a bribe?" usually resets the game to where it should be, public safety. Yes, I know that this goes against the customary and usual public perception of our offices, but there are some things that are just not tolerated in our neck of the woods.... |
| Posted by: Uncle Phester 2012-10-13 09:21 |
| #6 A City of Chicago zoning inspector found guilty of taking bribes has had his conviction overturned — in part, because the bribes weren’t big enough. That's not news and those aren't "bribes", that's COMMISSION! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-10-13 08:44 |
| #5 The point I didn't make there is that the name of the game is 'What am I willing to do to get rid of this guy and get back down to bidness'. 'Cause he's running off the paying customers. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2012-10-13 07:18 |
| #4 There's actually a bizzaro kind of logic in play here, and the crux of the matter is where does hospitality and courtesy end, and bribery begin? Viz, the inspector comes by. Is a cup of coffee a bribe? How 'bout one donut, maybe two? Didja save him the chocolate filled one? Among the inspectors I've talked to, one point to remember is these guys NEVER buy their own lunch. And the fire inspectors in particular, their favorite is to check out topless bars around lunch and dinner, where the, uhm, considerations, uhm, can be AWESOME. Or so I'm told. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2012-10-13 07:15 |
| #3 A minimum threshold for bribery? WTF? Does it also have a COLA? |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2012-10-13 05:39 |
| #2 In Cook County the inspectors press the contractors until they make a bribe. The inspectors in DuPage try to do the same thing.... the difference is the Cook County inspectors take the bribe and pass you but the DuPage inspectors arrest you. That actually leaves, from some perspectives, DuPage being lose lose and Cook being lose win. Illinois truly lives in a different political space. I am curious how a friend is going to do who just moved from the Lake Cook region to CA. Here in Illinois he kept a lawyer on retainer to protect him from extreme speed tickets on his custom motorcycle. The way that worked was when his tickets came up... if the judge wasn't owned by the lawyer he would take a continuance and keep doing that until an owned judge came up and dismissed the case. I don't think it works that way in Southern California. Maybe he will have to leave 160MPH off until he hits Montana? |
| Posted by: Water Modem 2012-10-13 01:08 |
| #1 Chicago, eh? A novel legal concept - it's not a crime if you don't do it too much. Hey, we all want to get our beaks wet. Tough to apply to stuff like murder, though, since body-count is a discrete variable and not continuous like price. Unless they give you the first one free. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2012-10-13 00:14 |