Iowa Electrician Sentenced to Prison for Bribery

A long-time city worker in eastern Iowa has been sentenced to a year in prison on bribery charges.

Radio Iowa reported the news last week about Robert Webster, who admitted this past summer that he had accepted bribes while working as an electrician for the City of Bettendorf. He accepted all-expense-paid trips to places like Las Vegas, Chicago and Arizona in exchange for directing city business to Brown Traffic Products. The Davenport-based company manufactures traffic signals and other traffic control devices.

Prosecutors connected the bribes to city contracts that used federal money.

Webster had worked for the City of Bettendorf for 32 years when federal officials began investigating him in October of 2010. He resigned a month later. Three employees of Brown Traffic Products pleaded guilty to bribery charges in connection with the case.

Last year, the company changed its name to MoboTrex, according to Radio Iowa.