Chicago police officer arrested for bribery during undercover sting www.privateofficer.com

Chicago IL Sept 232012 An 18-year veteran Chicagopolice officer was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly solicited and accepteda $5,000 cash bribe in return for letting a driver go scot-free.
On Sept. 14, Harold Rodriguez, 45, performed a traffic stopof a vehicle at the corner of 26th Street and California Avenue and recognizedits driver as a man arrested last year for a felony traffic violation, theChicago Sun-Times reports.
After Rodriguez, a field-training officer, determined thatthe driver had "an extensive criminal history," he solicited a bribeby stating that he could "make this all go away" for $5,000, PoliceSuperintendent Garry McCarthy told CBS Chicago.
The driver, Jermaine Jordan, subsequently tipped off Chicago police about theoffer, the Chicago Tribune reports. When he met Rodriguez to deliver the cashat a busy fast-food restaurant Tuesday, undercover officers were nearby tomonitor the exchange.
Immediately after the transaction, detectives arrested theofficer, who was charged with felony bribery and official misconduct Wednesday.His bail was set at $50,000 and he has been stripped without pay of his policepowers.
If convicted, Rodriguez will face up to seven years inprison, the Sun-Times reports.
As CBS notes, Rodriguez works in the Ogden District,home to the "Marquette10" officers who were convicted of accepting bribes from drug ringoperators decades ago.