New Orleans Cops Caught Filling Their Pockets With Red Light Camera Cash

from the that's-uptown,-throw-a-stack-at-'em dept

Wed, Jun 19th 2013 9:25am — Tim Cushing

Red light cameras have proven popular in certain communities (mainly the "law enforcement community"). They're a rather painless way to generate cash, both for the city itself and for the private contractors chosen to install and maintain the system. This influx of cash tends to pervert incentives, leading to questionable tactics being deployed, like shortening yellow lights to increase the "take," while doing little to nothing to increase public safety.

While law enforcement usually benefits indirectly from this new revenue stream, the officers themselves rarely benefit directly from red light tickets. But where there's a will (and a lack of oversight), there's a way. Some enterprising police officers in New Orleans decided the incentives weren't perverse enough, and formed their own company to review photo citations.

Police officers in New Orleans, Louisiana filled their own pockets with red light camera cash by setting up a private company to "review" photo citations off the official clock. The city's inspector general, E. R. Quatrevaux, on Friday released a report documenting how Edwin Hosli, the New Orleans Police Department's (NOPD) 8th District commander, formed his own limited liability company called Anytime Solutions to take advantage of the lucrative business opportunity.

Over a four-and-a-half month period in 2010, Hosli pulled down $7420 from the arrangement for himself. The inspector general released documents not included in the report that show Hosli and several other officers overbilled ACS by $9075. Hosli's share of that was $2055, according to the documents.

The Inspector General noted it's illegal for law enforcement members to form an LLC in order to "manage a detail." Not only that, but the officers' actions violated ethics policies. The low-level corruption began when American Traffic Solutions subcontracted its photo reviews to Affiliated Computer Services, which oddly enough, already handled parking tickets for the city. The then-chief of police, Warren Riley, declared he couldn't spare on-duty officers to review the photo citations. A workaround presented itself when ATS subcontracted review duty to ACS, which then hired off-duty officers to review the collected photos. Robert Mendoza, head of the public works department, greased the wheels.

Soon a handful of hand-picked officers ("Hosli's detail officers") were making money on the side, performing a task that was meant to be part of their normal on-duty workday. The officials involved with illegally enriching off-duty officers then went one step further, attempting to add another criminal charge to their rap sheets.

Officials meeting about the issue decided payments for the detail should be laundered through the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation, a tax-exempt organization that describes itself as "dedicated to supporting the people and processes of the criminal justice system in New Orleans."

Unfortunately for the involved personnel, ACS decided to pay them in a more straightforward (and implicating) fashion.

Instead, ACS paid Hosli's company directly. After investigators got wind of what happened, the kickbacks were terminated.

The report notes that as soon as the officers were caught, they went back to doing it the right way.

"It should be noted that immediately upon notification, the NOPD placed the responsibility of the red light camera image review with on-duty traffic division officers," Quatrevaux concluded.

Well, I suppose that makes everything OK. Wrongs righted by way of business as usual. Other than the "loss" of extra income, no further punishment has been dealt out to those involved. New Orleans will apparently continue to be policed by a combination of opportunists and their deputized cameras. The approval process is back in the hands of on-duty officers, which is an almost imperceptible tilt of the scale back towards "right." The perverse incentives remain, but those reaping the benefits will have to settle for routing it through official channels.

La Igreport (PDF)La Igreport (Text)

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Filed Under: corruption, new orleans, red light cameras

21 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 19 Jun 2013 @ 9:30am

Boudreaux and Tibedeaux approve.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Jun 2013 @ 9:43am

You've obviously not spent any time in NOLA.
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Michael, 19 Jun 2013 @ 10:05am

On-duty officers used and the overtime budget has been increased by $25,000.

Problem solved.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Jun 2013 @ 10:22am

N-LOL-P-D
Sadly, even at their most corrupt and wicked, they're still better than the historical alternative: vigilance committees. At least the police have to try to look like they're upholding the law.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Jun 2013 @ 10:23am

Hey, why should private companies make all the money/profit screwing over tax payers with red light cameras?

Just think of it as a form or protectionism, we're protecting the cops who's jobs we're outsourcing to private companies that are making huge cuts off of each ticket they send out!
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Jun 2013 @ 10:36am

did the NSA have tabs on this? how did they manage to commit this crime under their watchful surveillance eye? i suppose the answer will be that it wasn't worth the attention, in which case WHY DID THE ACTIVITIES OF MILLIONS OF ORDINARY PEOPLE WARRANT IT?
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Jun 2013 @ 10:41am

Any other job pulling this kind of shit would result in immediate termination.

In the police world, there are either no consequences or they are put on a "PAID" vacation.. er Suspension.

I understand they have a job that can't be good for their mental health, they don't exactly get to deal with happy people everywhere they go, but this is just unacceptable.
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mdb007 (profile), 19 Jun 2013 @ 10:50am

still corrupt
Guess the 60 minutes story from a few years ago still holds true, most corrupt police force in the country. what A$$holes.
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mdb007 (profile), 19 Jun 2013 @ 10:51am

still corrupt
Guess the 60 minutes story from a few years ago still holds true, most corrupt police force in the country. what A$$holes.
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Uriel-238 (profile), 19 Jun 2013 @ 11:14am

New Orleans' spirit has fully recovered from Katrina.
[no further comment required]
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Jun 2013 @ 12:25pm

Technology to the rescue.

http://dangerousprototypes.com/2011/06/06/ir-led-speed-camera-license-plate-blocker/
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Rekrul, 19 Jun 2013 @ 3:51pm

I'm surprised that red light cameras haven't become a popular target for paintball practice. Or pellet guns...
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Jun 2013 @ 5:05pm

Re:
No people are lighting bonfires with them maybe even singing Kumbaya.

Youtube: UK Biker sets speed camera on fire.

A balloon full of petrol can destroy one, they also use tires.

It is a real sport in the UK.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Jun 2013 @ 5:24pm

So who is going to jail for this? Because when normal citizens break the law ...
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Nunc, 19 Jun 2013 @ 5:57pm

Red light camera's do work and improve safety, but only if you use them correctly. That means, using a lot of them. Here in the Netherlands there's an automatic camera at virtually every red light. Individual camera's maybe increase accidents, but if most red lights have camera's you'll learn to anticipate.

Maybe there is also less tampering in the Netherlands because the country goverment receives the ticket income, but local government decides on the location of the camera. A nice division of power, which should be standard in governmental affairs.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Jun 2013 @ 7:13pm

out_of_the_blue just hates it when due process is enforced.
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James C. Walker, 19 Jun 2013 @ 7:29pm

Red light cameras
Graft, corruption, bribery, etc. are very common in the red light camera cash register business. There is SO much money involved that having it all be clean is unrealistic.

Red light and speed cameras are a dirty business that invite corruption and graft. It is one of many reasons the industry should be banned in every state, as it is in several now.

James C. Walker, Life Member-National Motorists Association
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art guerrilla (profile), 20 Jun 2013 @ 4:08am

Re:
encasing babies in concrete does work and improves safety, fortunately, the screams of the baby are muffled by the 4" thick concrete shell...

i am HIGHLY skeptical of red-light camera improving 'safety' to any *significant* extent, ESPECIALLY in comparison to any of a dozen other tactics which would be more effective, but don't generate extortion money for someone...

oh, please, please, please, Big Daddy, make me safe against my own will...
...OR, GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY LIFE, goons for the state...

art guerrilla
aka ann archy
eof
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Brandt Hardin, 20 Jun 2013 @ 12:10pm

Profiting from Policing
Traffic cameras are just another form of Policing for Profit as Capitalism distorts our Justice System. These companies are bottom-feeders and take a 40% cut of the tickets while creating MORE dangerous intersections by fixing the lengths of yellow lights to entrap drivers. You can read about how private companies and crooked politicians have turned our Police forces on their ear in every attempt to squeeze money out of the general public at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-privatized-police-state.html
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Dan, 6 Sep 2013 @ 7:39am

I bought a set of these, hopefully it will put a stop to this nonsense. http://www.sunflexzone.com/product/stealth-anti-tracking-ir-infrared-license-plate-privacy-frame-alp r-countermeasure
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Al, 1 May 2014 @ 4:18pm

Re: Profiting from Policing
it's not capitalism that distorts anything. all capitalism is is freedom. the freedom of people to do what people would do without some thieving government destroying them.

capitalism has only led to the most prosperous and free nation in the history of the world.

it's not capitalism's fault.

it's just plain old corruption.
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