Four years after declaring himself responsible, a former Township trustee with political connections to the very best democrats was sentenced to supervised freedom on Wednesday for not having submitted tax declarations for a interval of two years.
Richard Lewandowski, 65, from Palos Heights, declared himself responsible in February 2021 of felony data that accuses him of a criminal offense of not having submitted a tax return.
In a plea discount with ministries, Lewandowski admitted that he had not submitted a tax return in 2017 or 2018, regardless of having earned nearly $ 600,000 in these two years. Overall, he checked the state and federal authorities of about $ 62,000 of income, stated the attraction settlement.
As a part of his plea discount, Lewandowski’s condemnation was suspended whereas persevering with to cooperate with ministries in any investigation on the continued political corruption.
Public ministries stated that cooperation in a latest Court deposit asks the Judge of the US Magistrate Maria Valdez to contemplate supervised freedom as a substitute of the time of jail, though the deposit didn’t provide particulars on how Lewandowski helped the federal government.
“After being contacted by brokers as a part of a wider investigation, the accused was cooperative with the federal government and his cooperation lasted over the course of many months,” wrote the American legal professional Paige Nutini. “The defendant was honest with the federal government and the data he offered – relating to 2 separate investigations – had been helpful, dependable and well timed.”
Among the help letters introduced to the decide by Lewandowski’s lawyer, Patrick Boyle, there was one of many former United States consultant William Lipinski, the legendary democratic of Chicago, who described his pal as an “sincere and easy particular person and doesn’t attempt to get out simply”.
“Rich is an efficient voluntary, beneficiant, devoted member of his neighborhood and I’ve witnessed Rich, on quite a few events contact those that want some help to provide them the hand they want indisputably,” wrote Lipinski.
The federal condemnation tips requested as much as one yr in jail. However, Valdez participated within the suggestions and gave Lewandowski a yr of supervised freedom. The decide additionally fined Lewandowski $ 4,000. The registers of the courtroom present that he had already paid all his taxes and penalties.
The accusations in opposition to Lewandowski had been a part of an investigation into wide-ranging corruption that prolonged from Chicago to the suburbs of the south-west and Springfield.
Lewandowski, who has labored as a trustee at Worth Township since 2013, has been strictly allied with John O’Sullivan, a former state consultant and ally of the previous spokesperson Michael Madigan who resigned from Worth Township Supervisor in 2020 within the midst of the investigations that concerned the Saofeed pink gentle cameras firm.
O’Sullivan was sued by the Federal Ministries on the Safe-Speed probe in 2019, shortly after the brokers broke into the workplaces of the then democratic Sen. Martin Sandoval and a myriad of suburbs. O’Sullivan declared himself responsible in 2021 and is ready for a conviction.
Lewandowski can be the president of Breaker Press, a press firm primarily based in Pilsen who obtained thousands and thousands of {dollars} for the printing companies from politicians who dates again to no less than 2011. This consists of greater than $ 100,000 from associates of Michael J. Madigan for the speaker himself and dozens of candidates, starting from the Democrats of the house of rank and the thread for his sturdy hand, Marty Quinn.
The Madigan marketing campaign committee had additionally paid a number of thousand {dollars} to Breaker Press on behalf of Sandoval since 2012. Sandoval had since represented a part of the Madigan House district. Sandoval, who declared himself responsible of corruption and was collaborating with investigators within the huge federal case, died in December 2020 by the issues of Covid-19.
Madigan, a Southwest Democrat, was sentenced in the beginning of this month of conspiracy for corruption and different accusations of corruption after a four-month course of. A sentence has not been set.
jmeisner@chicagitribune.com
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