According to the indictment, inspectors performed incomplete inspections or failed to inspect work at all, as well as allowed plumbers to complete work without required permits.

The bribes came $5 to $20 at a time. Netted payoffs for individual inspectors ranged from $845 to $33,000 a year since 1995, according to the indictment.

Those charged were given one count each of racketeering and 10 counts each of extortion. This incrimination comes as the latest in a string of public corruption cases in Philadelphia. In January, nearly 20 city officials were charged in an alleged bribery scandal that cost the city $2.1 million.