COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The process of bringing red light cameras to Columbus started in 2003. Jeffrey Blackwell assigned to put together a committee to study the feasibility of a red light camera program.

Blackwell now is Chief of Police in Cincinnati.

“I was a young, newly promoted lieutenant in Columbus,” Blackwell said. “I was the traffic operations lieutenant and I was given an assignment by my commander, my deputy chief at the time, to explore the opportunity of red light technology for Columbus.”

Blackwell says he was surprised by the recent revelation that former Redflex CEO Karen Finley has pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges. Federal documents detail how money was funneled from Redflex to the the campaigns of certain elected city officials.

Blackwell says he remembers meeting with Redflex salesman Aaron Rosenberg – who has since turned whistleblower and has provided federal investigators with details about the bribes to officials in Columbus and other cities.

Blackwell says there was never even a hint of impropriety.

“Everything was transparent and above board and above that I have no knowledge or information of any impropriety,” Blackwell said.

The evaluation committee voted unanimously to recommend Redflex for the city contract. Blackwell and two other members of the city’s red light evaluation committee, Sherry Mercuio – former spokeswoman at Columbus Police Department and Amanda Ford – former spokeswoman at the Columbus Health Department, tell NBC4 they have not been questioned by federal investigators.

Much of the focus of the Columbus bribes outlined in federal court documents focuses on Democratic lobbyist John Raphael, who allegedly funneled money from Redflex to the campaigns of certain elected officials.

Mike Miller, Raphael’s attorney, told NBC4 that Raphael has not yet been questioned by investigators and has not testified for the federal grand jury.

Former federal prosecutor David Axelrod said investigators prefer to gather and analyze all the relevant data and documents before conducting interviews.

“You may only get one crack at a witness, and if you’re not in a position to pin that witness down with a document or an email or something else, you may have lost an opportunity that you can’t recapture,” he said.