Editor's note: Is it possible that the "bandage deal" was somehow tied to the "Judicial-Nursing Home Complex"? Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
Former Cook commissioner pleads guilty in bribery schemes
Ex-official caught in federal probe could serve more than 17 years
Former Cook County Commissioner Joseph Mario Moreno, left, and his attorney, Richard Kling, leave the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse after Moreno pleaded guilty to corruption charges Monday. (Michael Tercha, Chicago Tribune / July 1, 2013)
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Former Cook County Commissioner Joseph Mario Moreno faces up to 171/2 years in prison after he pleaded guilty Monday in federal court and admitted wrongdoing in three bribery schemes.
Moreno, a longtime commissioner until he stepped down in 2010, pleaded guilty to extortion conspiracy for strong-arming a firm with county business to hire a minority contractor whose owner had lent him $100,000 for a home purchase and later forgave the debt.
He also admitted using his influence on the County Board to push Stroger Hospital officials to buy a certain brand of bandages from a company that agreed to kick back a percentage of the sales to him.
And even in his role on a volunteer board for the town of Cicero, Moreno admitted he pocketed a $5,000 bribe to support the development of a waste transfer station in the town. He also asked to be paid "residuals" for all the trash the transfer station picked up.
"I don't want to be a hog; I just want to be a pig," he is quoted as telling a businessman who was secretly working for federal authorities in the Cicero deal in 2010. "Hogs get slaughtered; pigs get fat."
Under federal sentencing guidelines, Moreno faces 14 to 171/2 years in prison, one of the stiffest recent sentences for a public official convicted on corruption-related offenses.
Moreno's lawyer said he would plead with U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman for fairness, citing the four-year prison sentence faced by former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. for campaign spending violations.
"It's a horrible time," said Moreno's attorney, Richard Kling. "For many years, Mr. Moreno served the taxpayers of the county. He did some good things. And he did some bad things. He is remorseful. He is regretful."
Kling would not say if Moreno is cooperating with the federal probe.
"Mr. Moreno is accepting responsibility for his own behavior and his own behavior alone," he said.
Moreno, 60, remains free on bond while awaiting sentencing Oct. 17.
The plea agreement paints a picture of a cash-hungry official who sent emails and text messages and provided letters on official government letterhead to confirm his negotiations. He met with businessmen in his car and brokered deals that would get him cash up front and even stock options.
According to the plea agreement, Moreno used his elected and appointed offices, contacts and influence to buy homes, pay for the schooling of his children and support his family's lifestyle.
In 2008, when one company refused to hire Chicago Medical Equipment and Supply as its minority contractor, Moreno threatened trouble, the plea agreement shows. When the firm hired Chicago Medical as Moreno demanded, he backed a lucrative county contract for the undisclosed company. Moreno never disclosed that he had received a $100,000 mortgage loan from Chicago Medical Supply's owner or that the loan was later forgiven.
In another deal in 2010, Moreno met with Stroger Hospital officials about buying Dermafill bandages. He secretly made an agreement with that firm to pay him $5 for each bandage patch that various hospitals purchased. Then he tried to use his personal connections to push for a quick payment so he could get his share faster, according to the plea agreement.
At one point he was secretly recorded as part of the undercover probe saying the bandage deal would help him pay for his house in Mexico.
Dermafill "needs to hit so we can all become landowners down there … in beautiful villas and haciendas," the plea agreement quoted him as saying.
"I still have kids in grammar school and college is expensive," he wrote in a text message to a business partner about the bandage deal.
lbowean@tribune.com
Moreno, a longtime commissioner until he stepped down in 2010, pleaded guilty to extortion conspiracy for strong-arming a firm with county business to hire a minority contractor whose owner had lent him $100,000 for a home purchase and later forgave the debt.
He also admitted using his influence on the County Board to push Stroger Hospital officials to buy a certain brand of bandages from a company that agreed to kick back a percentage of the sales to him.
And even in his role on a volunteer board for the town of Cicero, Moreno admitted he pocketed a $5,000 bribe to support the development of a waste transfer station in the town. He also asked to be paid "residuals" for all the trash the transfer station picked up.
"I don't want to be a hog; I just want to be a pig," he is quoted as telling a businessman who was secretly working for federal authorities in the Cicero deal in 2010. "Hogs get slaughtered; pigs get fat."
Under federal sentencing guidelines, Moreno faces 14 to 171/2 years in prison, one of the stiffest recent sentences for a public official convicted on corruption-related offenses.
Moreno's lawyer said he would plead with U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman for fairness, citing the four-year prison sentence faced by former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. for campaign spending violations.
"It's a horrible time," said Moreno's attorney, Richard Kling. "For many years, Mr. Moreno served the taxpayers of the county. He did some good things. And he did some bad things. He is remorseful. He is regretful."
Kling would not say if Moreno is cooperating with the federal probe.
"Mr. Moreno is accepting responsibility for his own behavior and his own behavior alone," he said.
Moreno, 60, remains free on bond while awaiting sentencing Oct. 17.
The plea agreement paints a picture of a cash-hungry official who sent emails and text messages and provided letters on official government letterhead to confirm his negotiations. He met with businessmen in his car and brokered deals that would get him cash up front and even stock options.
According to the plea agreement, Moreno used his elected and appointed offices, contacts and influence to buy homes, pay for the schooling of his children and support his family's lifestyle.
In 2008, when one company refused to hire Chicago Medical Equipment and Supply as its minority contractor, Moreno threatened trouble, the plea agreement shows. When the firm hired Chicago Medical as Moreno demanded, he backed a lucrative county contract for the undisclosed company. Moreno never disclosed that he had received a $100,000 mortgage loan from Chicago Medical Supply's owner or that the loan was later forgiven.
In another deal in 2010, Moreno met with Stroger Hospital officials about buying Dermafill bandages. He secretly made an agreement with that firm to pay him $5 for each bandage patch that various hospitals purchased. Then he tried to use his personal connections to push for a quick payment so he could get his share faster, according to the plea agreement.
At one point he was secretly recorded as part of the undercover probe saying the bandage deal would help him pay for his house in Mexico.
Dermafill "needs to hit so we can all become landowners down there … in beautiful villas and haciendas," the plea agreement quoted him as saying.
"I still have kids in grammar school and college is expensive," he wrote in a text message to a business partner about the bandage deal.
lbowean@tribune.com
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