Ex-Chicago building inspector who took $300 bribe gets probation

An ex-Chicago building inspector caught on tape brazenly demanding and taking a $300 bribe walked away from his sentencing hearing Tuesday with two years of probation and six months of home confinement.

U.S. District Judge Jorge Alonso said Roberto Uribe risked the safety of others “to line his own pockets” and helped “erode the public’s trust in government.”

But the judge ultimately found Uribe, 55, is the “rare example of someone who doesn’t need to be sent to prison.” Uribe has no criminal history. And while the feds suspect this was not the only time he had asked for a bribe, they acknowledged they had no hard evidence that he was anything but a novice.

“He’s being sentenced as someone who did this once,” Alonso decided.

Uribe was arrested last April and pleaded guilty in October to attempted extortion. He told the judge Tuesday that he takes “full responsibility” for what his lawyer has called a “stupid and life changing act.”

“What I put my family through will probably never be rectified,” Uribe said.

A spokeswoman for the city’s building department said Uribe resigned last May. He demanded $300 in November 2015 from the owner of a two-story building in exchange for allowing renovation work there without a permit. He initially approached workers doing the renovation and asked if they had a permit to work on the front window facade. They put Uribe in touch with the owner.

But the unidentified building owner turned out to be cooperating with the feds. Initially, Uribe told the owner in an unrecorded phone conversation that, “This being the city of Chicago, this can be worked out.” Later, the owner secretly recorded Uribe.

“So now, what’s happening now is you’re gonna give me some appreciation, and you’re gonna hurry up and get this done,” Uribe said. “And that appreciation is gonna be $300. Now how quickly can you get me my money to keep my mouth shut?”

Uribe said the bribe would save money and benefit them both.

“This here will stop you for six months, and it’ll cost you starting at $3,500 for an architect and plans,” Uribe allegedly said. “You know that. I’m looking out for you, we’re looking out for each other.”

Uribe accepted the money on Nov. 12, 2015, allegedly telling the building owner for the record that, “You’re purchasing my DeWalt, Delta table saw.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker asked for as many as 16 months in prison for Uribe. She argued in court filings that Uribe’s recorded comments “reflect that this was not (Uribe’s) first time engaging in extortion.”

The judge also told Uribe on Tuesday that while he had been entrusted with enforcing the city’s building code, he instead chose to put others at risk “to line his own pockets.”

“The code is there for a reason,” Alonso said. “It is there to ensure safety.”