Louisiana Cops Profit from Red Light Cameras
They set up a company to "review" tickets
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.
"It is against NOPD policy for an Officer to form an LLC for the purpose of managing a detail," Quatrevaux wrote. "It is also an ethics violation for a city of New Orleans employee to contract with the city of New Orleans."
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Why is Reason opposed to entrepreneurship!
Hey NO state employees, this is pathetic.
Ray Nagin is about to set the record for the number of federal convictions of ANY US politician in history.
This petty crime stuff? Man up.
I keep praying for another Katrina.
The National Motorists Association, long ago, replaced to old AAA as being the motorist's best friend. This camera issue is just one of their many areas of expertise:
http://www.motorists.org/red-light-cameras/
Yet Hosli himself presumably sees no problem with such illegal activity - just like many politicians and bureaucrats who corruptly take advantage of their position.
Professor James Buchanan exposed this in winning the 1986 Nobel Prize for Public Choice.
The rational answer seems to be to remove the power and then the temptation can't be exercised.