Six months in prison for passing along red-light camera bribes

Perched on a federal witness stand eight months ago, Martin O'Malley told a jury it "would be nice" to avoid prison time by testifying about his role in the massive bribery scheme at the heart of Chicago's red-light camera program.

He didn't get his wish. But U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall still showed a significant amount of mercy Monday when she handed a six-month prison sentence to the 75-year-old military veteran. Last month, she handed a 10-year prison sentence to the man at the center of the scam - ex City Hall insider John Bills.

"This case could not have been prosecuted without your testimony," Kendall told O'Malley.

O'Malley faced as many as five years in prison after admitting he passed $560,000 in cash bribes from Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. to Bills.

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