City dropping red-light camera firm as probe heats up

Mayor Rahm Emanuel does away with red light cameras cause he finally read Mendez-Diaz Vs. MA Sepreme Court ruling which stated the cameras are un constitutional and are to be taken down oh no; Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced today he will axe the city’s embattled red-light camera vendor when its contract expires in July, citing new investigative findings that the company gave thousands of dollars in free trips to the former city official who oversaw the decade-long program.

Emanuel announced the action against Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. following the Chicago Tribune’s report today that the chairman of Redflex’s Australian parent company resigned this week and trading in the company's stock was suspended amid an intensifying investigation into allegations of corruption in its Chicago contract.
Redflex Holdings Ltd. announced the extraordinary actions just days after board members were briefed by an outside legal team hired to examine ties between the company's U.S. subsidiary and the city official who oversaw its contract, a relationship first disclosed in October by the Tribune. The company also revealed for the first time that it is sharing information with law enforcement authorities.

The internal probe found that company executives systematically courted former city transportation official John Bills with thousands of dollars in free trips to the Super Bowl and other sporting events, sources familiar with the investigation told the Tribune. The company also hid the extent of the improper relationship from City Hall after the newspaper's reporting last year forced Redflex to partially reveal its ties to Bills, sources said.

Emanuel, who inherited the red-light contract when he took office in 2011, had already disqualified Redflex from bidding on his new speed camera initiative after the October disclosures. The new announcement means Redflex will lose what it has described as its largest North American contract. The mayor’s office gave the company a six-month extension last month while it opened the contract to bids, but at that time did not announce whether Redflex could compete to keep the business.

“Given these more serious allegations, we are declaring Redflex not responsible to bid on the new red light RFP when it is issued,” Emanuel spokeswoman Sarah Hamilton said in an email to the Tribune.

“The City is also engaging an independent firm immediately to audit the Redflex contract for all past and ongoing activities to ensure Chicago taxpayers are not cheated in any way. If there are any findings of illegal conduct or improprieties that show Chicago taxpayers were defrauded, the City will seek penalties to the fullest extent of the law.”

The Redflex internal probe and a parallel investigation by city Inspector General Joseph Ferguson are also raising more questions about the company's hiring of a longtime Bills friend who received more than $570,000 in company commissions as a customer service representative in Chicago, the sources said.

Bills did not return calls, but has adamantly denied any wrongdoing. "I would never have intentionally accepted a dime from Redflex, I wouldn't do that," he told the Tribune in October.

The latest developments run counter to the company's previous contentions that a whistle-blower concocted widespread accusations of internal wrongdoing and that a single company executive had mistakenly violated procedures by paying a one-time hotel tab for Bills. The reversal was acknowledged in a statement to the newspaper Thursday from the Australian company's CEO, who took over in September.

"Although the investigation is not over, we learned that some Redflex employees did not meet our own code of conduct and the standards that the people of the city of Chicago deserve," said Robert DeVincenzi, CEO of Redflex Holdings, the parent company of Phoenix-based Redflex Traffic Systems Inc.

"We are sharing information with law enforcement authorities, will take corrective action and I will do everything in my power to regain the trust of the Chicago community," DeVincenzi said.

Until the allegations were published by the Tribune, Redflex was positioned as a leading contender for Emanuel's new program to sprinkle the city with automatic cameras to tag speeders in school and park "safety zones." Emanuel's administration accused the company of covering up the wrongdoing allegations and disqualified it from bidding on the speed camera contract. Now the company faces the potential loss of its long-standing red-light program in Chicago, which has generated about $100 million for the company and more than $300 million in ticket revenue for the city.

The internal allegations were first made by a former Redflex vice president who wrote of the company's close relationship to Bills in a five-page internal memo emailed in 2010 to the Australian board of directors and obtained by the Tribune. In addition to making allegations about commissions to Bills' friend, the executive complained of "nonreported lavish hotel accommodations" for Bills.

The memo was addressed to Redflex Holdings board Chairman Max Findlay and sent overseas via email. Findlay and another board director, Ian Davis, were atop the list of recipients of the 2010 email.

The company announced both men's resignations in filings Wednesday to the Australian Securities Exchange, where Redflex is publicly traded.

Redflex did not indicate why the men were resigning. But on Thursday the company asked for and was granted by the exchange a four-day suspension of trading "until the earlier of 10 a.m. on Monday 11 February 2013 or an announcement being made."

"The trading halt relates to an update regarding financial aspects and the ongoing investigation in the USA," wrote company secretary Marilyn Stephens. The company did not elaborate on the trading action.

Redflex lawyers told the Tribune in October that a previous company-sponsored investigation by an outside law firm in 2010 found no wrongdoing but for a single hotel stay one top executive paid for Bills. Redflex Traffic Systems sent the executive vice president in question to "anti-bribery" training and revamped its expense accounting system, according to General Counsel Andrejs Bunkse.

Professional pro gun politician is not a pro with gun safety

Gun safe professional how can you tell well look at the gun it is pointed in a safe direction and finger off the triger. How can you tell when it's not safe.

Dianne Feinstein born June 22, 1933) is the senior United States Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988.

Born in San Francisco, Feinstein graduated from Stanford University. In the 1960s she worked in city government, and in 1970 she was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She served as the board's first female president in 1978, during which time the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk drew national attention to the city. Feinstein succeeded Moscone as mayor. During her tenure as San Francisco's first female mayor she led a revamp of the city's cable car system and oversaw the 1984 Democratic National Convention.
After a failed gubernatorial campaign in 1990, she won a 1992 special election to the U.S. Senate. Feinstein was first elected on the same ballot as her peer Barbara Boxer, and the two became California's first female U.S. Senators. Feinstein has been re-elected four times since then and in the 2012 election, she claimed the record for the most popular votes in any U.S. Senate election in history, having received 7.75 million votes.  Senator Dianne Feinstein, who is set to introduce legislation that would gut the second amendment, said in 1995 that she carried a concealed gun in order to protect herself against terrorists.
Our question is Dianne if you are a professional gun permit holding person who has been through a firearms safety course then you should know that your not pointing that SKS in a safe direction and you know your finger is on the trigger.

Sarges Video: Doctor who recieved a award from Bush tell's off Obama

Black professional Doctor at John Hopkins tells off Obama.
Dr. Benjamin S. Carson, a world renowned neurosurgeon and the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast this week where he slammed political correctness, health care, and the national debt with President Obama seated right next to him.
Tonight he was on Hannity and said he would willing to debate anyone on the president’s team on healthcare.

“I would be willing to debate anyone on the president’s team on healthcare and how it should be administered.”

Utah arrest a man for entering his home with loaded gun

Unless you live in the state of Texas, I encourage you to pay attention to what happened to a homeowner in Utah. The homeowner arrived at his house to find a suspicious vehicle in his driveway and his front door wide open.
He retrieved a gun from his car and attempted to hold the two people in his driveway at gunpoint. However, when they tried to drive away he shot at the vehicle in an attempt to disable it. What’s more, a burglar came out of the house and ran when he saw the homeowner, and the homeowner chased after the guy and ended up firing a shot.
When all was said and done, the burglar who came out of the house and the homeowner were both arrested and booked into jail. So what did this homeowner do wrong?
Ohhh where do I begin?
First off, this homeowner was either asleep during his concealed carry course or he didn’t pay attention whatsoever. Remember, you can only use deadly force when you are in fear for your life or seriously bodily injury. When the homeowner approached the car and the occupants tried to drive away, they were obviously no longer a threat.
Plus, trying to disable the car by shooting out a tire or shooting the engine block just proves he wasn’t in fear for his life. If he was, he would’ve shot the occupants and not the car.
And when the other burglar came out of the house and started running, it is never a good idea to chase after him, let alone shoot at him. Again, the burglar was running away so he is no longer a threat. Plus, if you chase him and do catch him you don’t know what knives, tools, or guns he has on him.
The fact is, this homeowner is very lucky…
That he didn’t hit the occupants in the car and that he didn’t hit the burglar he was chasing after. If he did, who knows how long he’d end up in jail. What this homeowner should have done is pulled over to the side of the street when he saw a suspicious vehicle in his driveway. He should have called 911 and given them the license plate and waited for police to arrive.
I realize that’s not the macho thing to do and most people will want to approach the car and confront the burglars. All I can say is this: If you do and they flee, just let them go. And if they don’t flee and you’re forced to shoot them, then you may end up wishing for the rest of your life you had just waited in your car and been a good witness.
In other words, resist the macho side we all have, and exercise self-discipline. Your life is far too important to have it ruined because some low-life burglar broke into your house to steal a TV and you felt the need to confront him or chase after him.

Sarges Letters: Dick Durbin gets this long letter

Mr. Senator:
I am a law abiding citizen and a private security officer who depends on my firearm for protection.
I am old school I believe in settling things with my fist one on one, but I work in a area were animals will fight one one at first then the loser will either pull a weapon or have his friends jump in. I am going to tell you what happen to me durring an arrest. I was chasing an 45 year old offender who just commited a sexual assault on a 16 year old child I chased him on foot for 12 blocks and I tackled him. I had no back up and I was by my self. I am a security officer so my only contact with police is by cell phone and in a foot chase is impossible to grab with that said, I caught him on 71st. and Ashland were 15 more black men came out of  Food 4 Less and ran up on me with my back turned and yelling lets get this honkey I drew my gun for the first time in 6 years of working the street and as I sat my big but on the offender crushing his rib cage so I can protect him and me from imminant harm one and keep him from escaping two, I pointed my pistol and said the first one to take another step will be sent home in a body bag. One of the men said ha he only has 10 rounds I replyed with wrong gun this is a new one and it has a 15 round mag and one in the pipe so I'll take all of you out. Not knowing a driver passing by called 911 I had 30 police cars at my aid by the time I could say anything eles. I am a NRA and ISRA life member. I joined them because they insure my guns and insure my life free of charge. But I do agree with Wayne you missed the point. Here is another true story that happened on Dec 31st that will show you the point you missed. I was walking in to Walgreens to buy a red bull and a slim jim when I walked in a male black about 18 years old held a firearm in the cashiers face I drew my gun and used my trainning that I recieved from my companies acadamy and turned the offender to were I would not shoot an incent by-standard as I ordered the gunmen to drop his gun. I was able to turn him and get him out side as a police officer was pulling on scene not paying attention to what was happing got out of his patrol car and started to walk in to the line of fire I pushed the cop with everything I had and yelled gun. The gunmen then looked at the cop and took off on foot. We chaced him and caught him and recovered the gun. We went to court on this and all the 18 year old got was 2 days time considered served and 500 hours of community service and when all of that is done it will come off his record as it never happened. This is were we need to enforce our laws. We have the strictest gun laws in the nation and yet people in your capasity want to make it hard for people like me to protect my self. I get followed home from gang bangers who end up following me to a police station instead. These animals have high cappasity mags and I agree we don't need 32-100 round mags but we do need 15 - 30. When I bought my first semi auto it was a Glock and I noticed the label was white when I opened it up it came with 4 10 round mags and I used this as my duty weapon until I saved for another Glock. But I wanted to know why Glock color coded the gun boxes and here is what they told me a white label is for civilian use a blue label is security or lawenforcment and must present 4 pieces of identification to purchase one ( 1 Il Only state FOID or CWP, 2 Company ID, 3 State ID, 4 State issued PERC and FCC ) Red is for military and compition and require 6 forms to obtain that fire, because those are set for full auto and can only be used in compition and or military. I was also told if you compete there are more laws and rules and safety. That is the gun has to be completely torn down mags in a seperate lock box from the gun and you can not be in possesion of any amo when leaving the range. So I used my work ID's to obtain my new Glock. I also asked my gun store about how to purchase a AR-15 with 30 round mag capacity with day and night optics in a NATO 223 or 7.62 round for work. He told me because he liked the way Glock asked for proof I would have to take those same steps plus a letter head from the company I work for stating my training on a AR and my scores along with the area of which I am assigned and I complied and was able to purchase my AR. If I went in as a civilian I could have gotten a AR-15 with a 12 round  mag 223, but I needed it to protect my self at work. However since I purchased it the dam thing sits in my gun safe or on my gun table being taken apart and together. My father collects guns and I am starting to do the same but I collect old rifles and revolvers and semi auto hand guns but unless they are for work I could care less what the mag capacity is but my Glock and Ar are used for work and like the police I need those rounds. I lay my life on the line for the last 6 years for people I don't know even the police example of this I went to New Orleans for Katrina relief and N.Y. to help search for people I don't know. I didn't take any oath of office or oath as lawenforcment but I have my own oath and that oath is this . I John Q. Public do swear to protect preserve and deffend the constitution of both the state of I am living in as well as working in and the U.S. Constition from both foriegn and domestic enemies. I will also faithfully protect the inocent and the weak I will go to court and sign complaints so the ones who live in fear wont have to I will lay my life on the line for any police officer or politician I will die deffending the community in which I work in. I am no hero but I do not need my elected employees to tell me what I can have in my guns that I use to protect the community, police,firemen,you, and any other person that comes on to my beat.

Sarges Videos: Did biker's break laws or did constitutional rights get violated

This video will show you constitutional rights being violated. This is what was taken from a biker's view

This video will show you what really happened from a cops view
Dash cams don't lie

Sarges Videos: Smart ass gets nailed by a hard core judge

Watch real close and know the only thing you should say to a judge is THANK YOU SIR and HAVE A NICE DAY