Nice. I suspect there was some shady doings when our building was turned into Condo, circa 1997. Over the years, we’ve discovered all sorts of not-to-code problems (wrong size electrical conduit, faulty plumbing, etc.), I would be curious to see who the inspector was who signed off on the obvious not-code elements.
A one-time City of Chicago plumbing inspector testified Tuesday that he took bribes “almost daily” from contractors and passed a cut of some of the payoffs to his supervisor in the Buildings Department.
Travis Echols, testifying at the trial of the supervisor, Gregory Toran, told a federal jury how Toran reacted when he was promoted and became an office-bound boss unable to conduct inspections in the field.
“He said, ‘Throw me a bone,’ ” testified Echols, adding that meant to cut Toran in on bribes Echols would receive to sign permits that landed on Toran’s desk.
…
Toran went on trial Tuesday at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on charges of attempted extortion, accused of pocketing hundreds of dollars in bribes that Echols told him was coming from contractors who wanted subpar work overlooked. Turning a blind eye to violations was just part of the job and meant hundreds of dollars in extra cash, Echols said.
[Skull and Concrete]
No wonder the housing market is in such flux.