March 18--A former inspector for the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection was sentenced Wednesday to 1 year of probation for pocketing several hundred dollars in return for tipping off a store owner to upcoming inspections.
Elias Garza, 55, of Chicago, pleaded guilty in 2011 in federal court to one count of extortion.
He faced up to 1 1/2; years in prison, but U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve imposed probation in part because of his cooperation with authorities.
The undisclosed shopkeeper was selling contraband cigarettes and paid Garza a combined $900 in bribes in 2009.
