The attorney for a former Chicago official on trial for allegedly taking bribes to bring red light cameras to the city says his client is innocent because he did not have the power to do so.
In his opening statement, attorney NishaySanan said if you are going to bribe someone in Chicago, it has to be someone with power. He went on to say John Bills didn't have the power, control or influence to direct the contract to Redflex.
Prosecutors allege Bills accepted cash and gifts to steer over $100-million in red-light camera contracts to Phoenix-based Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. Redflex later signed other deals for Chicago's first red-light enforcement program.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Storino told jurors that Bills used his power at City Hall in a decade-long conspiracy to benefit Redflex.
