Chicago building inspector gets 3 years for bribes

A federal judge has sentenced a veteran City of Chicago building inspector to three years in prison and fined him $10,000 on bribery charges stemming from an undercover corruption investigation dubbed Operation Crooked Code.

At the hearing Friday, U.S. District Court Judge David Coar ordered 47-year-old Jose Hernandez to begin serving his sentence Jan. 31.

Hernandez, who has been a city building inspector since 1988, was convicted in September of accepting two $1,000 cash bribes from a contractor who was cooperating with the investigation and soliciting two $2,000 bribes from two other contractors.

Federal prosecutors say the incidents occurred from late 2005 through 2007.

They say 21 defendants, including 15 current of former city employees, have been convicted so far under Operation Crooked Code.