Redflex and American Traffic Solutions Dirty Scheme for “Clean” Elections

There has been a lot of whining down at the state capitol in the last two weeks as anti-photo radar/red light camera activists have applied serious pressure on legislators to cosponsor and support HB 2579.

They’ve used every excuse in the book and here are some highlights:

“I don’t cosponsor any bills, that’s just my policy.”

“It doesn’t matter if a bill has cosponsors and you should leave it up to the bill sponsor to contact them.”

“If I cosponsor this bill, another legislator who doesn’t like me might kill the bill to even the score.”

“I really wanted to cosponsor, but I just couldn’t find the time to go over and sign my name on it before it was filed.”

“You’ve missed some (arbitrary or made up) deadline and I’m no longer allowed to sign on.”

“All the phone calls and emails are a turn off and you should really back off before you upset your reps and they vote against your bill.”

These are what we call excuses and poor ones at that.

The real deal is that your legislature is mostly bought and paid for by photo ticket money that funds their campaigns.

From WarOnDriving.com

The Redflex scandal in Chicago isn’t going away, any time soon. Politicians who may or may not be in bed with the camera vendor in other cities and states may claim that Chicago’s corruption doesn’t apply elsewhere.

Anyone using this excuse is either lying, ignorant or both.

Let’s take the entire state of Arizona as an example. More than 10 municipalities, such as Phoenix, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Tucson, Chandler, Prescott Valley, Surprise, etc still use a combination of speed or red light cameras. Despite the fact that photo tickets sent by mail are not legally binding in Arizona, millions of dollars in fines are still collected.

10% of that money goes into a fund ironically called “clean elections,” which provides public funding to political campaigns, like members of the Arizona Senate and House of Representatives. These folks, not coincidentally, are responsible for allowing photo radar and red light cameras to litter the roads and scam Arizona motorists.

What’s also NOT a coincidence is that 80% of candidates for Arizona Legislature use “clean” election money to fund their campaigns. If you connect the dots, that means that Redflex and American Traffic Solutions fund their operation and basically own them. If a bill (currently HB 2579) to ban them passes, most of that clean election money will instantly vanish. The political gravy train would stop dead in its tracks and there would be quite a few state senators and reps scrambling to find a way to fund re-election in 2014.

Those are the hard facts and they’re undeniable. Chicago-style corruption with backdoor payola is still likely to be going on, but the scheme in Arizona is right there in plain sight.

[CONTINUE STORY]

WarOnDriving.com: American Traffic Solutions Credit Card Scam

Courtesy of WarOnDriving.com

Have you rented a car lately? Read that contract? Nobody really does, right?

What you’re probably missing in those pages of tiny print is that American Traffic Solutions has partnered up with your rental car agency to automatically charge your credit card when you’ve been accused of a traffic infraction.

It seems that even the kangaroo court system that has been established to hear photo ticketing cases does not extort motorists fast enough for the liking of ATS.

This is exactly the kind of scam that class action lawsuits were created for.

HOUSTON REVOLTS

American Traffic Solutions or Above The Statutes, Inc?

A scheme backed by American Traffic Solutions to conspire with City of Houston politicians in overturning a public election banning automated ticketing machines is backfiring as constituents express outrage as the program expands:

Amazingly, lost in the chaos surrounding the city’s insulting plan to expand the cameras are the much more significant questions surrounding American Traffic Solutions lobbyist and general scumbag counsel George Hittner, who did the dirty work constructing a phony lawsuit involving the city with the intent to punt the case to the same federal court where Hittner’s father happens to serve..

“Criminal Justice System” indeed.

Councilwoman Jolanda Jones may be the most honest politician in Texas since the ATS meltdown. Her proclamation is correct that since the cameras came in without a public vote, they can leave without a public vote.

“We can put it on city council next week. And we can vote for it [the ban].”

Who’s Jim Tuton and the American Traffic Solutions Sue Crew going to sue when the council cans the scam?

NEW: visit the CameraFRAUD 2012: Texas Forum beta

One Step Closer: LA Red Light Cameras Voted Down AGAIN

LA residents will enjoy safer intersections starting August 2011!

The big one is coming. Los Angeles City Council will overwhelmingly vote to end the red light camera program…. this week!

The formalities are mind-numbing, but they’re going to come quickly this week after the inevitable was delayed by some lame-brained scheming courtesy of American Traffic Solutions CEO Jim Tuton.

[read more]

Cameras Turned Back On; Houston Media Calls For Uprising

The betrayal is complete. A two-faced mayor, completely corrupted judge and litigious organized crime operation (American Traffic Solutions) have come together to thwart an election.

As of midnight central time, red light scameras in Houston are back on and tickets will begin to be mailed out this week.

[read more]

Houston Chronicle Outs Annise Parker

And the other shoe drops. Annise Parker could have used an escape clause to get Houston out of its contract with ATS, following last November’s vote to ban red light cameras.

There’s nowhere else to hide for Mayor Parker who has clearly chosen the interests of American Traffic Solutions over her own city.

[read more]

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!

Poor Attendance Embarrasses L.A. City Council; Delays Red Light Camera Decision

Sorry L.A., we just "couldn't make it on time" - Your City Council

UPDATE: Is American Traffic Solutions picking up and moving their HQ from Scottsdale, AZ to another state in order to save their contract with the city of Los Angeles? Remember the SB 1070 related boycott? Could they be moving to California?

As it stands right now, the Los Angeles red light scamera program is set to expire on July 31, 2011. However, L.A. City Council can’t seem to make a final decision, mainly due to poor attendance at their meetings.

[read more]

Vote on L.A. Red Light Cameras By City Council is “Likely” on Friday

UPDATE: After testimony, mostly by ATS employees, including Charley Territo and CEO James Tuton, LA City Council decided to delay even voting on the “suggestive measure” until Tuesday.

LAist has more details.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

American Traffic Solutions is clinging to life in Los Angeles for another 48 hours, but the likelihood of them surviving the month of June is extremely low.

Two council members have been persuaded by an ATS lobbyist to introduce a motion to continue the red light camera scam on a monthly basis while a “safety analysis” is conducted.

<read more>

 

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.

—–

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