Rural FL town writes $600,000 in traffic tickets. Can't account for money. 1 cop for 25 citizens
Be sure to watch the video. There are many more outrages in the video that are not in the story. One of the officers would get out of his car on a traffic stop with an AR15 strapped on his shoulder and wearing tactical gear.
From CNN
Speed trap city accused of corruption, threatened with extinction
Hampton, Florida (CNN) -- How off-the-charts corrupt do you have to be to capture somebody's attention in the Sunshine State?
You can lay claim to a 1,260-foot stretch of busy highway a mile outside of town and set up one of the nation's most notorious speed traps. You can use the ticket money to build up a mighty police force -- an officer for every 25 people in town -- and, residents say, let drugs run rampant while your cops sit out by the highway on lawn chairs, pointing radar guns at everybody who passes by.
..."It became 'serve and collect' instead of 'serve and protect.' Cash register justice," said Sheriff Gordon Smith. "Do y'all remember the old 'Dukes of Hazzard'? Boss Hogg? They make Boss Hogg look like a Sunday school teacher."
...Hampton cops were a fixture out on U.S. 301. They sat on lawn chairs, pointing radar guns at unsuspecting motorists. They hid behind recycling bins. As more and more money came in, they idled in slick SUVs, trolled the median strips in riot gear and toted state-of-the-art firepower. Locals gave one the nickname "Rambo" because he slung an AR-15 rifle across his chest.
More from The Gawker
Welcome to Hampton, the Most Corrupt Little Town in Florida
A little landlocked city in Florida is so outrageously corrupt that state officials are trying to abolish it.
And critics say the small town exists solely so that its police force can control a 1,260-foot stretch of highway that they've turned into a speed trap, reaping hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
According to the audit, the city racked up around two dozen violations, including:
Failure to track where the ticketing revenue went.
Lax controls and terrible record-keeping led to one clerk getting overpaid nearly $9,000.
Misuse of city credit cards: city employees charged more than $27,000 "with no public purpose" and racked up a $132,000 bill at a convenience store next to City Hall.
Failure to keep records of assigned vehicles for employees.
Uninsured city police cars.
City officials admitted other records were "lost in a swamp."
A crumbling water infrastructure, with nearly half the water supply lost.
"It's like something out of a Southern Gothic novel," state senator Rob Bradley, whose district includes Hampton, told Time.
= new reply since forum marked as read
I got careless and let them nail me the last time I went through...
You know it's a racket when you get no fewer than TWENTY unsolicited letters from law firms in town offering to "settle" the ticket for a fee (because they know damn well nobody in hell is driving an hour or two or more back to Emporia to appear in traffic court)...Naturally, ALL of the settlement fees offered were flat rates which were more expensive than me just paying the fine outright....
