A Chicago plumbing inspector described by a prosecutor as a “major league bribe taker” has been sentenced to 41 months in prison, making him the most recent city employee imprisoned as part of Operation Crooked Code.

Mario Olivella received the sentence on 5 November 2010 after being convicted in January of two counts of bribery and conspiracy for taking a bribe of about $8,000 – paid in cash in a restaurant parking lot – to overlook plumbing code violations at a condominium.

“Mr. Olivella is in the big leagues. He is a major league bribe taker in the city,” Assistant US Attorney Christopher Hotaling said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Prosecutors said Olivella, 42, took more than $50,000 in bribes from expediters and contractors so that he would look the other way when violations were found at residential properties throughout the city.

Judge Joan Lefkow, who handed down the sentence, said she was also aware of a contractor who had taken Olivella to a Chicago Bulls game at the United Center with skybox seats.

“You are upholding the public trust or at least you were supposed to be upholding the public trust,” Lefkow told Olivella, the Sun-Times reported.

Operation Crooked Code, a probe being conducted by the federal government and Chicago’s inspector general’s office, so far has led to charges being brought against 29 people and 21 convictions.

This is a cautionary tale for all plumbers, no matter where they are from to do the right thing. It is vitally important that all Codes are upheld, to maintain the integrity of both the industry and the systems in place.