A former inspector for the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection pleaded guilty Friday to extortion in federal court for taking several hundred dollars in bribes in return for tipping off a store owner to upcoming inspections.
The undisclosed shopkeeper was selling contraband cigarettes and paid Elias Garza a combined $900 in bribes in 2009 in exchange for warnings of impending inspections, according to Garza’s plea agreement. Prosecutors also revealed that the store owner had sought to have Garza inspect a competitor’s store.
Garza faces up to 18 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, but he likely will receive a shorter sentence if he continues to cooperate with investigators. No date was set for his sentencing by U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve.
