Miami AZ Unanimously Rejects Redflex

Our condolences go out to Karen Finley….. well, not really. Next time you all should look for towns that don’t have internet or network television. That might leave the chance that  they can’t discover the truth about Redflex Traffic Systems.

From WarOnDriving.com:

Miami, AZ is a far cry from the city in South Florida that shares its name with.

Not very many folks pass through the town, unless they’re making a pit stop on their way from Phoenix to cooler destinations in Arizona.

They looked like an easy target to Redflex Traffic Systems, who probably thought they’d just need to convince a Barney Fife type that their cameras somehow save lives, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

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“What Happens?” + a CF announcement

What Happens?

What happens when cities (predictably) ignore elections?

What happens when their police departments illegally arrest activists – repeatedly – for daring to speak out against rampant surveillance and inappropriate corporate control over entire municipalities?

What happens when entire state governments are unable or unwilling to listen to the will of the people regarding foreign corporations who base their revenue expectations on mail fraud and phony tickets?

What happens when government considers mere movement a privilege instead of an inherent right?

They get painfully exposed by CameraFRAUD.

Again.

New tools. New Features. New Websites —Coming Soon.

It’s time to redefine activism. It’s time to act.

Join us today

as we begin beta testing

the new CameraFRAUD 2012: Forum

How It Works: Red Light Cameras

The Weekly Standard has published a great guide to the complicated and technical process red light cameras use to extract money straight out of your wallet as you drive through a monitored intersection.

Most of you aren’t intelligent enough to understand all the elements because you’re not politicians or camera company executives, but go ahead and read it anyway.

Trust us, we know what's best for you. ~Lobbyists, Politicians, Camera Crooks

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American Traffic Solutions, Redflex Double-Down On Fraud

A Redflex employee hard at work in the company's North Phoenix processing office. (All tickets are reviewed by multiple "Homers," a derogatory phrase used by corporate managers to refer to the paper processors who usually make little money.)

Ticketing and surveillance giants Redflex and American Traffic Solutions are doubling down on their favorite methods of revenue generation: fraudulent business practices, blatant incompetency, and lawsuits.

Sioux Falls Fail

Beleaguered Redflex is so incompetent that the company mailed out 500 red light camera tickets… to people accused by the machines of speeding:

Michael Evans got the surprise in the mail that no one wants, a ticket for running a red light in Sioux City.

When he looked at the video of his offense he was confused to say the least, because his pickup is clearly on the interstate.

He alerted the police about the mistake, and they sent out a letter of apology to about 500 people who also received the wrong type of ticket, but along with the apology came new tickets for speeding violations.

Town dunce and Sioux City Police’s Cpt. Melvin William was quick to defend the “theft-by-shiny-badge” scheme, presumably at the request of his new private-camera-contractor overlords:

“Because in one spot we didn’t change the wording that the whole thing should be thrown out?  No…There is no error when it comes to the fines that were imposed.  They were the right fines for what had occurred.  There is no error when it comes to the evidence,”

…Except for the whole “accusing 500 people of the wrong crime” thing.

American Traffic Solutions: “Circle Jerk” Lawsuits In Houston

Taking the “American way of justice” further down the shitcan is American Traffic Solutions in Houston. ATS is angry that citizens voted the cameras out, so the company is blatantly engaging in frivolous lawsuits in an effort to block the will of the “voters:”

The ruling was a major victory for the legal strategy of ATS General Counsel George Hittner, who worked with the Houston city attorney to create a lawsuit in which city officials, who want the cameras back, sued ATS, which also wants the cameras back. The case was not filed in state court, which would be the proper venue. Instead, Hittner had the case filed in the federal courthouse where his father happens to serve.

Still voting?

Redflex Mail Fraud In Spokane

“…Spokane County Superior Court Judge Jerome Leveque ruled three tickets issued in Spokane using cameras to detect those running red lights were invalid because the electronic signature on the tickets was generated out of state.”

…Phony signatures. Phony tickets. Phony corporate cops that defend revenue schemes instead of constituents’ life and property.  Phony lawsuits. Laws and due-process ignored.

Happy Phony Forth of July from CameraFRAUD. Because the USA is where your ability to serve as a milking cow to the state and its corporate allies is patriotic job number one. Now get back to work, slave!

Criminal Conspiracy: Redflex, ATS, and Anytown USA

"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." George Washington

OPINION  – You own a car. One evening, while enjoying your private property, a series of sensors and cameras detect your movement and computationally decide that you are exceeding the speed limit. A for-profit corporation receives high-resolution images of the alleged “violation,” which then forwards the allegations to another series of for-profit corporations.

Municipal corporations have a budget and, lets face it, payroll is a bitch for any corporation. Instead of a co-op where residents are viewed as equal shareholders in their community, they are instead viewed as revenue machines ready for milking. The true shareholders in these muni corporations are the usual suspects: investment banks like Goldman Sachs (which also owns American Traffic Solutions and Geico) and Macquarie which just gobbled up Redflex.

Yes, big banks, the photo firms, and Anytown U.S.A. have a lot of things in common: They care about money, power, and control. 

Lets not forget that a “traffic ticket” in any form goes well beyond the scope of a tax. It is a lawsuit directed at you on behalf of a carefully-vested collective of public and private entities that survive only on their ability to take by force the property of others. This collective includes the very elected officials that are supposed to represent the people and protect their private property: city and town judges, the town prosecutor, police officers etc.

In grade school, this is called stealing. In muni law, it’s considered “revenue enhancement” and your immediate, unquestioning compliance is not requested but demanded. The endgame to this bastardization of law is obvious: corpgov sanctioned theft:

If you’ve got one of the 15,000 traffic camera tickets the city says remain unpaid, you might want to keep an eye on your car. Police will begin seizing or putting boots on vehicles whose owners have unpaid tickets from the five Redflex Traffic Systems cameras around town, the Las Cruces Police Department announced Tuesday. LCPD Police Chief Richard Williams wasn’t available to comment on the new enforcement action, but LCPD spokesman Dan Trujillo pointed out that nothing about the ordinance itself was new.

“Fighting” photo enforcement by trying to change out the politicians who allowed it to happen is like voting for a new board of directors at McDonalds because of a lousy drive-thru cheeseburger. A better solution is to immediately stop patronizing the corporations (City of Scottsdale, City of Mesa, City of Phoenix) and their hired thugs (corrupt police officers, judges, prosecutors).

In Arizona, the advice used to be “careful driving down to Mexico, the corrupt police there will seize your car on a whim.”

In 2011, we can revise the sentiment: “careful driving across town, the corrupt police will seize your car at the command of a private corporation.

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Editor’s Note: Received via email, 5/4/2011.

Arizona’s Most Toxic Assets: Redflex and ATS

"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." George Washington

To: Arizona State Senators and Representatives
From: CameraFRAUD
2/25/2011

Two of the largest automated ticketing vendors on the planet have substantial roots within the State of Arizona. Combined, these corporations employ many Arizonans and generate tens of thousands of dollars in revenue each day.

And there’s never been a better time to finally say goodbye.

Photo ticketing schemes extract enormous amounts of cash from the local economies in which they pretend to serve. Instead of this money staying within our community, Redflex and American Traffic Solutions virtually launder these stolen funds through pseudo-local offices… and back to their respective faceless investment banks.

In one corner, American Traffic Solutions sounds downright patriotic in name. Their surveillance cameras even boast a sticker as being “Made in the USA.” Don’t let the smoke and mirrors fool you though: ATS is a pawn of the massively-corrupt investment firm and former bailout recipient Goldman Sachs.

In the other corner, Redflex is being purchased by Macquarie Ltd and the Carlyle Group, two firms which are equally disinterested in the well-being of Arizonans. These faceless monsters only care about profits, and how every last dime can be extracted from their voiceless victims.

Just like the large, faceless investment banks which helped contribute to our current national recession, ticketing vendors Redflex and ATS also create local booms and busts within local municipalities. Unfortunately, the local elected “leaders” are asleep at the wheel, and aren’t paying attention to this modern game of “Three Cup Shuffle.”

Cities and towns are lured in by the prospect of “free money,” usually to the chipper reminder that such ticketing programs are “violator funded.” Contracts are haphazardly entered into, cameras go up, and the money starts to pour in. But as with any scam, there’s always a catch. Programs which start out profitable usually end up in the red, as is the case with the City of Mesa’s beleaguered relationship with ATS.

Citizens revolt, avoid areas with overzealous enforcement, or simply grow savvy to methods to avoid detection. Unintended consequences include a population that has become savvy to avoiding process service, making a mockery of the supposed “rule of law.” Increases in yellow light timing can and have destroyed these profitable schemes, sometimes incurring the wrath of these money-sucking vampire vendors.

Attempts to cancel contracts administratively are met with threats of lawsuits. Cities actually forced to end their contracts due to citizen’s ballot initiatives have been sued by these vendors, proving that there truly is no honor among thieves once the honey pot runs dry.

When Goldman Sachs dumped $70 million worth of mismanaged assets in 2006-2007, they were called “toxic.” Then Goldman conned its way into receiving $12.9 billion in TARP funds through AIG, while turning around and handing out $14 billion in executive bonuses.

Now, it’s Arizona’s turn to drop two toxic “assets” once and for all: the physical presence of American Traffic Solutions and Redflex within the Grand Canyon State.

Top 10 CameraFRAUD Stories from 2010 – Part II

5. Redflex CEO forced to admit that company falsified FCC documents for 11 years

In what amounted to a nuisance lawsuit by American Traffic Solutions (ATS) against Redflex, it was hard to gauge which side was more damaged by the proceedings.

A federal Judge said about ATS’s performance in court, “”At best the plaintiff has an extraordinarily weak case… it is weak at every point.”

Conversely, Redflex’s CEO Karen Finley was forced to admit under oath that it falsified FCC documents saying that their mobile radar equipment was exempt from certification and used those false documents for 11 years. That admission amounts to millions of photo tickets that are now in question.

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4. Redflex Traffic Systems spent 2010 circling the drain

It wasn’t easy being a member of this Aussie operation. Let’s review their lowlights:

*Attacked repeatedly by Australian and US media

*Sued by rival ATS

*Lost millions on Arizona contract failure

*Profits dropped by 92%

It’s no wonder employee morale is reported to be at an all time low and the company is for sale. Will 2011 be the end of Redflex?

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3. Tempe Scamera Lawsuits

In October, a massive RICO lawsuit was brought against the City of Tempe, Redflex and many politicians and law enforcement officials. If successful, the suit filed by Daniel Gutenkauf could bring down the entire photo ticketing fraud ring in Arizona.

Less than two months later, Redflex Traffic Systems, in a desperate move served its own customer, the City of Tempe with a separate lawsuit. They are seeking what the scamera vendor alleges are lost profits from defensive driving school fees charged to motorists who opt out of paying their photo tickets.

There certainly is no honor among thieves.

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2. Every Camera Ban Initiative Wins on Election Day

A lot of cameras came down in 2010 thanks to citizens initiatives

American Traffic Solutions really felt the wrath of the voters on election day in 2010. Their cameras were ousted by citizens initiatives in:

Garfield Hts, OH (Cleveland suburb)

Mukilteo, WA (Seattle suburb)

Anaheim, CA

Baytown, TX and Houston, TX

Congrats go out to all our friends in the fight against scameras from across the US who pushed back on Big Brother and abusive government. November 2nd, 2010 was a day to remember.

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1. Arizona Freeway Scamera System comes to an end

Under immense pressure from the Arizona Citizens Against Photo Radar initiative to ban all forms of photo ticketing in the state, the Redflex contract with AZ DPS was not renewed.

The ban photo radar petition in Arizona was the #1 non-paid citizens initiative in the entire US for 2010. Because the will of the people was spoken so loudly and clearly, a victory against the menacing freeway cameras was won. Thanks to all the hard work of signature gatherers and the volunteers who made this effort possible. We didn’t get everything we wanted, but the message was heard by your elected officials at the state capitol.

Of course the ultimate goal is to ban all forms of photo ticketing in Arizona. That goal moves forward in 2011!

A sincere thank you to everyone who supports our cause. We simply couldn’t do it without you.

The CameraFRAUD Family

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“Scariest Speed Camera of All” coming to Phoenix?

Actually, they’re already here because with the flip of a switch, the city of Phoenix can begin ticketing you for just about anything caught on Redflex intersection scameras and with speed camera vans.

The Daily Mail, a newspaper out of the UK is reporting on a camera that can ticket drivers across the pond for alleged unpaid taxes, insurance, unfastened seat belts, or even tailgating!

Page 29 of the Phoenix contract with Redflex has the provision for just this sort of abuse of technology. How soon before our checking accounts and credit cards are charged automatically after each “offense?”

More from The Daily Mail.

Courtesy of The Daily Mail UK

Tempe Man Files Massive Scamera Lawsuit – Redflex Named

CameraFRAUD has been sent a copy of a RICO suit that names a large contingency in the scamera criminal enterprise in Arizona as defendants. Here are some highlights of the list of money-grubbers:

*Redflex Traffic Systems

*City of Tempe

*Tempe Police Dept

*Karen Finley, CEO of Redflex

*Terry Goddard, AZ Atty General

*Hugh Hallman, Mayor of Tempe

*John Halikowski, Director AZ Dept of Transportation.

*Roger Vanderpool, (former) AZ DPS Director

*Thomas Ryff, City of Tempe Chief of Police

*Joel Navarro, Tempe City Council

*Judge Louraine Arkfeld, Tempe Muni Court

There are many more listed on the official document here. The plaintiff, Mr. Daniel Gutenkauf has filed the suit under the grounds that all named parties are acting as a criminal syndicate, committing extortion and fraud in order to profit from scamera tickets.

Eventually the scam of photo ticketing will come to an end in this country. If this RICO suit is heard and goes through, it will be a giant step in the direction of a nationwide ban.

The state of Arizona and it’s elected officials have shamed themselves by allowing the criminal behavior of scamming motorists with photo tickets to continue. If it takes a lawsuit to put it to and end in our state, so be it, but our public officials have had plenty of chances to do the right thing and have looked the other way. This shame is theirs.

Bombshell: ‘Countless’ Served Tickets May Be Invalid

CameraFRAUD Demands FBI Investigation
Media Inquiries: media@camerafraud.com

Attorney and CameraFRAUD member Michael Kielsky has uncovered potentially damning information regarding photo enforcement process service within Arizona.

The revelation? Widespread, illegal certificates of service, admittedly completed by office workers instead of the actual server.

Developing…

Just got back from court with another Photo Radar case win — but how I won “shocked” even me.

The case was set for a process server hearing, and the process server was there, seemed to remember the service, and otherwise was a credible witness, leaving me little room to challenge the service.

I then asked if he had notes from the day of service, which he confirmed, and I asked if I could see them. I compared his notes to the certificate of service, and saw that some of the demographic specifics were off (the height was 5″ off, the age was specific instead of the range in the notes, the weight was off by 5 lbs.).

I then asked him about the differences (in that, more than anything else, the height seemed significant).

Bombshell alert:

He answered that he sends his notes in to the process service office, and then someone there fills out the certificate of service with all the details, and adds a digitized image of his signature, and the files it.

My jaw hit the desk. I asked him to confirm that the certificate was completed from his notes, and that he did not review it before it was signed, under penalty of perjury, with his digitized signature, and he confirmed, and said that’s the way they always do it, in 10′s of thousands of cases.

I argued to the judge that I had no issue with the digitized signature, but that the certificate of service was void, as it was completed and signed without his review, and it did not accurately reflect his own notes regarding the service.

The judge questioned the process server some more about this process, and, among other things, he admitted, that, well yes, for eviction service, that’s not how they do it, but for photo radar they do.

Case dismissed.

UPDATE: The FBI is the agency assigned to investigate public and judicial fraud. Their contact information is as follows. We encourage any reader who feels they may be a victim of false service to immediately file a report.

Federal Bureau of Investigation
Special Agent Nathan T. Gray
201 East Indianola Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85012
Phone: (602) 279-5511
Fax: (602) 650-3204
E-mail: phoenix@ic.fbi.gov