THE CHIEF SAYS.....
by Chief
Investigator, Wayne A. Johnson
ORGANIZED
CRIME IN CHICAGO
The
problems involving North Loop Tax Increment Financing District Contracts (no
bid) known as (TIF)s, that were first reported by Crain’s Business Chicago in
the summer of 1997 was expounded upon in the November 2, 1997, Sunday Tribune.
A holistic explanation was provided of the TIF concept and it’s expansion. This
report also provided an inside look at common political favoritism practices,
in a typical city council meeting (Feb, 7, 1997). It’s good for the public to
see just how this process works. Crain’s and the Tribune should be commended
for these reports. A proposal is being considered to designate the Taylor St.
(Little Italy) area as a TIF district. Remember, Corruption will only be
tolerated by an uninformed public!
Since that revelation, other scandalous incidents have appeared on the
horizon. One such case was documented when a TV news crew followed a Ward,
Streets and Sanitation Superintendent. The Superintendent not only left his
ward but, left the state while on company time. In typical Chicago fashion his
cronies stood fast and defended his actions citing past exemplary service. What
makes this case exceptional is the fact the one current and three former
Alderman came to the rescue. Since this storey surfaced the Inspector General
brought charges against this Superintendent and he was currently on suspension.
This case was scheduled to be presented before the Personnel Board for the City
of Chicago until the Ward Superintendent suddenly retired in late January. The
troubling part of this scenario is that he was allowed to take part in a
buy-out offered to some but, not all city employees. What about the criminal
aspects of this THEFT.
UNION NEWS
Well as spring approaches the long awaited ruling by former organized
crime prosecutor and Hearing Officer for LIUNA, Peter Vaira was released. The
ruling coincided with the complaint filed in 1997 by the GEB Attorney for
LIUNA, that characterized several LIUNA Officials as Organized Crime members or
Associates. This finding led to a takeover in early February, of the Chicago
District Council offices at 6121 W. Diversey by U.S. Marshalls and FBI Agents
armed with a Federal Judges Court Order. Trustee Robert Bloch was appointed for
the task of sorting through bank accounts, pension funds, and other union
records for signs of improprieties. This task as characterized by
Washington-based Attorney Dwight P. Bostwick as “only the beginning”.
New
allegations have arisen from the GEB Attorney for the Laborers International
Union of North America, except this time they are directed at the International
President and Bill Clinton confidant, Arthur Coia. This is not the first time
that such actions have been considered however. In 1994 through 1995 a takeover
seemed unavoidable as government negotiators and union representatives tried to
reach an agreement on a plan to rid the union of mob influence. Although, a
short time later Coia himself agreed to lead the effort to clean up the union
after hiring a former federal prosecutor and federal agents, to placate the
Justice Department. Talk about putting the fox in charge of the chicken coup.
But, for the time being the heat dissipated and it was back to business as
usual, including the close relationship between Coia and President Clinton.
Well, as 1997 came to an end former U. S. Justice Department lawyer, and
the man Coia himself hired, GEB Attorney
Robert D. Luskin filed charges in Washington against Coia, while still
other investigations against Coia proceed in Washington, Boston, and Rochester
N.Y. In this complaint, the charges
against Coia concern “historical misconduct”, and claimed that Coia has “associated
with, and been controlled by and influenced by organized crime figures” in the
past. This is no surprise in light of past accounts from his own mouth that
included a meeting in 1991 between Coia, John Serpico (a former union official
ousted in 1995 and current chairman of the Illinois International Port
District), and Chicago MOB Lieutenant Vincent A. Solano. The late Solano a
former Laborers local president himself gave Coia his blessing in his bid for a
run at secretary-treasurer of the international but, warned him that it was
Serpico that the MOB had designated as the heir-apparent to the International
Presidency. Well, as you can see this episode reads like a Nicholas Pileggi
screenplay. In coming months we will monitor this and other union affairs and
report those results in the next Alert.
POLICE CORRUPTION
On
November 3, 1997, the FOP membership at a regular meeting attended by over 300
members passed a vote of no confidence
in their former leader Supt. Matt Rodriguez. This unprecedented measure came on
the heels of what is felt to be a rush to judgement regarding the move to fire
two officers in the alleged beating of a west side teenager.
In
light of this, what I find astonishing is the department’s tortoise like
investigation of an officer with a long Organized Crime associations in
Gambling ventures that was first brought to light in 1994 when this officer was
in the training academy as a recruit. This revelation was made public when the Chicago Crime Commission
released it’s latest work on Organized Crime titled “The New Faces of Organized
Crime”. High ranking officials of the department have told the Chicago Crime
Commission that legal affairs attorneys admit that if all that is known now,
was known when this officer applied for employment he would not be a police
officer today. More recently, a former candidate for the Superintendents
position claimed in a Sun-Times interview that he never had files in his possession that would
clarify this officers Organized Crime associations. However, this information was known by
the department and specifically the Internal Affair Division. Why the lies? And
why was this officer not fired. Smells like a cover up to me! This makes me
wonder aloud, why does the department not ask all of it’s applicants if they
have Organized Crime affiliations and further, why don’t they consult their
owns experts in that area about the backgrounds of potential candidates? Could
it be because, the unit over the last several years has been stripped of manpower
and could not handle such a mandate!
Future recommendations by newly appointed Superintendent Terry Hillard
address just that. In his first days as the Superintendent designee, Hillard
spoke of bringing the Intelligence function of the Department back to its prior
strength. In my eyes, this is a sign the Mayor made the right selection. I wish
Superintendent Hillard all the best and look forward to working with him in the
future.