...Despite his opportunities in life, Sorrells succumbed to the allure of something better: fancy cars, expensive jewelry and lavish trips. And it took $3 million in bribes to make it happen, prosecutors said.
"You just sold out the public for your own financial benefit," U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn said Wednesday during his sentencing hearing.
The judge gave Sorrells, 73, seven years in federal prison for a bribery scheme that led to the spectacular demise of the school transportation agency known as Dallas County Schools.
Sorrells, the agency's former superintendent, took the illicit payments from the owner of a Louisiana camera company. In exchange, Bob Leonard's company received $70 million in contracts to provide surveillance cameras for the agency's school buses...
...Lynn said Sorrells was the most culpable player in the "sordid scheme."
"You were supposed to be a faithful servant to your community," Lynn told him. "You are at the top of the pile. This happens because of you."..
...The camera system was expected to bring in significant revenue by collecting fees from motorists ticketed for driving around school bus stop arms.
Dallas County Schools even bought thousands of extra cameras from Leonard's company and tried to sell them to other Texas school districts. But the promises of extra revenue never came true...
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