i'm so proud to live in Il
81
Posts: 58,276
:? the fbi report is a pretty interesting read.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... 1936.story
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... 1936.story
A state representative was arrested today for allegedly pocketing a $7,000 cash bribe to write an official letter of support for a day care center that he believed was seeking a state grant.
Rep. Derrick Smith of Chicago is scheduled to appear in federal court at 3 p.m. today on the bribery charge.
An undisclosed individual who works on Smith’s political campaigns began cooperating with the FBI in December, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
The informant told investigators that Smith had talked about needing help with fundraising since he was appointed to the House seat last year. Smith allegedly said he wanted donations in the range of $5,000 to $7,000 and was willing to accommodate reasonable requests from donors, prosecutors said.
At the direction of law enforcement as part of its undercover investigation, the informant told Smith in December that he knew a woman who owned a day care center and was hoping to obtain a state grant to cover repairs to the facility, according to the charge.
The informant told Smith the woman might be willing to contribute to his campaign, and Smith allegedly said he would help the woman obtain the grant in exchange for a $5,000 contribution, prosecutors said. Smith later increased his demand, saying that if the woman was “legitimate,” she could contribute $7,000, prosecutors alleged.
Although the day care center was real, the woman was fictional and the center was not actually applying for a state grant, prosecutors said.
Smith was recorded in several meetings and phone calls agreeing to write a letter supporting the center’s grant application in exchange for the money, prosecutors alleged.
On March 2, Smith’s office provided a letter written on his official letterhead supporting the center’s application for the grant, according to the charge.
Smith later told the informant that he wanted the $7,000 in cash, not in the form of a cashier’s check, because he didn’t want the money to leave a trail, prosecutors said. Smith also allegedly told his staffer he would pay him $2,000 for arranging the deal, according to the charge.
On Saturday, the informant met with Smith in his car and counted out $7,000 in $100 bills as he paid off Smith, prosecutors said.
The next day, Smith drove to an alley behind his staffer’s home and gave the staffer $1,000 in cash for his assistance, according to the charge. Smith promised to pay the remaining $1,000 by check, prosecutors said.
Smith was appointed in March 2011 to fill a vacant state House seat representing parts of Chicago’s Near West and Near Northwest sides and is seeking election in the Democratic primary on Tuesday.
He unsuccessfully ran for the Cook County Board in 2010 and was an administrator with the Illinois secretary of state’s office when he was appointed to the House seat.
Secretary of State Jesse White, who led the panel that picked Smith, said at the time of his appointment that Smith was “an honest, stand-up kind of a guy."
If convicted, Smith faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine and would be required to pay restitution
81 is now off the air
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and then we have crooked police, crooked politicians, crooked lawyers & judges, crooked doctors, crooked gas station attendants, crooked glasses of water...everyone in the greater chicago area is working for the mafia or they are getting beat up for not working for the mob or they are paying off someone to not beat them down and to build them daycare centers.
"Hear me, my chiefs!
I am tired; my heart is
sick and sad. From where
the sun stands I will fight
no more forever."
Chief Joseph - Nez Perce
not quite BK yet...but yeah, seems like 75% of the public officials are corrupt
btw, i am moving to gary, indiana. see you soon, 81.
kidding kidding i kid i kid
"Hear me, my chiefs!
I am tired; my heart is
sick and sad. From where
the sun stands I will fight
no more forever."
Chief Joseph - Nez Perce
fuck gary....it's a stink hole
I blame the teachers.
they are part of the problem, no doubt about it. between pensions and corruption, it's tough to come up with cash.
the grandfather of chicago style politics, yes/no?
"Hear me, my chiefs!
I am tired; my heart is
sick and sad. From where
the sun stands I will fight
no more forever."
Chief Joseph - Nez Perce