Thursday, May 22, 2008

U.S. charges 15 in city bribe-taking probe

A part of the recurring theme of corruption in the city unfortunately. I wonder what can be done about it. Tribune:
Seven city inspectors are among the 15 people charged Thursday in a new round of corruption charges targeting bribe-taking in Chicago's Zoning and Buildings Departments, federal authorities have announced.

The investigation targeted city employees who allegedly took money to influence zoning applications or alter building plans, authorities said. Many of the bribes were paid through a cooperating expediter who has given investigators information on some 30 people, the U.S. attorney's office said in a release.

The alleged bribes helped developers avoid seeking necessary variances, receive certificates of occupancy that they were not entitled to and pass inspections that they should have failed, authorities said.

City employees charged were William Wellhausen, a zoning investigator; Mario Olivella, a plumbing inspector; MacArthur Milam, a supervisory ventilation and furnace inspector; Phyllis Mendenhall, an inquiry aide in the Buildings Department; Anthony Valentino, a zoning investigator; Thomas Ziroli, ventilation and furnace inspector; and Louis Burns, a Buildings Department clerk.

Wellhausen has deep ties to the 36th Ward Democratic organization of 36th Ward Ald. William J.P. Banks, the powerful chairman of the City Council's Zoning Committee.

The 36th Ward Democrats sponsored Wellhausen's efforts to get a city job as early as 1990, according to the "clout list" released in the 2006 trial of the mayor's patronage chief. His daughter works in Banks' office.

Also charged were property owners, developers and contractors who allegedly exchanged cash payments while handling zoning and permit matters.
You can get more information over at the Capitol Fax about this story.

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