Cleveland district official convicted of taking bribes from contractor

From The Cleveland Plain Dealer: A jury has found Cleveland schools official Bernard K. Watkins guilty of extorting $7,000 in cash from a security-systems contractor. Watkins, 54, received two kickbacks in 2008 from a representative of Vision Security Solutions LLC, one totaling $5,000 and the other $2,000, according to evidence presented in court. Watkins was the technical supervisor for safety and security with the Cleveland School District. His job was to supervise contracts for security systems, including closed-circuit televisions and alarms. Watkins was suspended without pay last fall. He had been making nearly $54,000 a year.