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By Ray Long, Tribune reporter
9:00 p.m. CDT, April 7, 2014
SPRINGFIELD—
— A onetime top aide to former state public health chief Dr. Eric Whitaker plans to plead guilty to bribery, theft and obstruction of justice in federal court this week in a $400,000 state grant kickback scam she is accused of trying to cover up, according to court documents the Tribune obtained.
Quinshaunta Golden, 45, of Homewood, is scheduled to change her plea to guilty Thursday and has agreed to cooperate with authorities. Federal prosecutors have agreed to request a sentence of no more than 10 years and a month in prison, a copy of Golden's plea agreement shows.
Whitaker, a close friend of President Barack Obama's, has said he is fully cooperating with the government and not involved "in any way" with the alleged crimes in the case. On Monday, Whitaker reiterated that through a spokeswoman. Whitaker is not named in the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Bass declined to comment beyond confirming Golden's change of plea is on the court docket. Rodger Heaton, Golden's attorney, said via email that he expected the hearing Thursday to proceed.
Golden, the niece of Democratic U.S. Rep. Danny Davis of Chicago, plans to plead guilty to two counts, one of which involves bribery and theft allegations, and another that involves obstruction of justice, according to the agreement. Golden was Whitaker's chief of staff when they served together at the Illinois Department of Public Health for several years until late 2007.
When they indicted Golden last year, prosecutors alleged that starting in 2006, she directed grants to a security firm to evaluate potential nursing home residents for felonies. The firm previously has been identified as V.I.P. Security & Detective Service in Evergreen Park. A 2009 Tribune investigation determined that state evaluations in which V.I.P. Security took part sometimes missed ex-convicts' violent crimes and downplayed the risk they posed to other nursing home residents.
Under Golden, the state public health agency also issued grants to nonprofits run by Leon Dingle Jr. Golden is accused of having Dingle hire a paid consultant, identified in the indictment only as Individual A. The consultant collected more than $1 million in grant and contract money given to Dingle's groups and the security firm and was supposed to kick back half the money to Golden, the indictment states.
Individual A is described as an associate of Golden's and a paid consultant of V.I.P. Security who allegedly paid more than $400,000 to Golden as part of the scheme, according to the indictment. In the plea agreement, the government alleges the highest payment that made its way to Golden was as much as $70,000, but Golden contends the largest was no more than $50,000.
Dingle, who served several years as a commissioner for the Illinois Medical District, and his wife, Karin, have pleaded not guilty in a 2012 federal money-laundering case. They are charged with diverting $3.7 million in state funds for cancer- and AIDS-related programs for luxury cars, sports tickets and vacations.
As a grand jury probe heated up in February 2012, Golden sought to influence the testimony of the consultant, including urging the individual to say the grant money was used "for gambling and other personal expenses," prosecutors said.
Roxanne Bryant Jackson headed up human resources at the state health department when Whitaker and Golden were there. Jackson later was director of V.I.P. Security, which was owned by her brother, Bennie Bryant III. Reached by phone Monday, Jackson said she no longer worked at V.I.P., knew nothing about Golden's plea and had no further comment.
Whitaker, an Obama golfing buddy, left the state Public Health Department in late 2007 to work with Michelle Obama at University of Chicago Medicine. Golden left her state job in early 2008 and joined Whitaker at the U. of C. Last year, Whitaker left the university.
rlong@tribune.com
Twitter @RayLong