Posted on 04/12/2011 4:26:45 PM PDT by Beaten Valve
Days after two city inspectors were arrested by the FBI on suspicion of taking bribes, officials at the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety called Tuesday for the agency to electronically track the whereabouts of its employees.
Building and Safety spokesman David Lara said his department sent a series of recommendations to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, including a move to activate the GPS tracking devices contained within each inspector’s cellphone and laptop computer.
“For us, it’s mostly about making sure our inspectors are where they’re supposed to be,” Lara said. “With the latest turn of events, it’s too bad that we’ve had to take that type of measure. But we feel in the long run it would provide better control for our supervisors.”
In affidavits filed last week, the FBI said Hugo Joel Gonzalez, 49, of Eagle Rock and Raoul Joseph Germain, 59, of Altadena were caught on videotape taking bribes in exchange for the approval of construction work. In some instances inspections were not even conducted, the FBI said.
The arrests followed a sting operation involving a confidential informant in South Los Angeles, the area where the two insectors worked. That informant spoke of paying as many as 40 bribes to inspectors, as well as providing building materials, free labor and, in one case, a vacation, according to affidavits.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...
This is already done by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
Goose, gander and all that.
Hammer the arrested officials and call it a day. This is just an excuse to spend more taxpayer money. Sometimes the simplest solution is the best.
Tell me again how tracking them will stop them from taking bribes?
Right: If they are where they are supposed to be, there is no way they can take a bribe. Geez.
I would make a bet that a few people working for the city fit your description, probably more than a few, and some may be inspectors.
We had a friend that was doing a major addition to his house.(LA COUNTY) He was required to get a septic permit. He applied, the inspector kept saying, no you need this..... then that... (my friend in construction as a GC for over 25 years) in the meantime, he and his wife decided to adopt a baby. Went through all the work and got a baby and was fully adopted. Then about 18 month later another baby was added to the family. He was also fully adopted.... 5 years after that.... Still no septic permit.
I said Dude, he is waiting for a bribe. I said go down to the county supervisor and tell him your story. He did, he had the permit the next day.
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