Four former bank employees accused of trying to illegally manipulate precious metals futures contracts say the criminal charges against them should be dismissed. The men filed their motion in Chicago’s U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The Department of Justice charged the men with RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) conspiracy, conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution, bank fraud, commodities fraud, price manipulation and spoofing. The DOJ said…

Back in 1998, a group of 46 states – including Illinois – reached the largest settlement in history with tobacco companies. The $206 billion settlement included $9.3 billion for Illinois to compensate the state for tobacco-related health-care costs. According to federal prosecutors, former Chicago Ald. Edward Vrdolyak and his friend Daniel Soso scammed about $10 million for themselves out of the settlement though they did no work on the case. Soso, 67, and Vrdolyak, 82,…

A recent report on the Chicago Police Department added new meaning to the word “trolling.” For many, the term refers to online provocateurs who specialize in name-calling and making incendiary remarks. But trolling by CPD officers is another matter entirely. Police trolling refers to a Chicago police officer who makes a traffic stop or an arrest for disorderly conduct at the end of their work shift, precisely so that the officer has a reason for…

If you drive about an hour southwest of Chicago, you will arrive in the Village of Minooka. A businessman there is facing a federal wire fraud charge. Prosecutors accuse the 49-year-old owner of The Income Store of operating a Ponzi scheme. They allege that his scheme took in $75 million from hundreds of investors. Federal prosecutors claim Kenneth Courtright ran The Income Store from ahis suburban home, raising millions of dollars by promising investors…

On the list of disgraced and corrupt Chicago cops, former officers Xavier Elizondo and David Salgado will always have prominent places. The two were convicted last October of manufacturing evidence, stealing money and drugs and then engaging in a cover-up of their criminal activities. Elizondo and Salgado are back in the news after two city residents filed federal lawsuits against the pair, stating that the former officers illegally raided their homes using warrants based on…

A recent legal filing didn’t generate headlines, but it undoubtedly raised some eyebrows around Chicago. Federal prosecutors announced that they have reached a plea agreement with former state Rep. Luis Arroyo. Many observers believe the deal includes an agreement for the long-time Chicago politician to cooperate with prosecutors. Arroyo was arrested last October and charged with bribery for his role in an alleged scheme to pay a fellow member of the state Senate $2,500 a…

A recent legal filing didn’t generate headlines, but it undoubtedly raised some eyebrows around Chicago. Federal prosecutors announced that they have reached a plea agreement with former state Rep. Luis Arroyo. Many observers believe the deal includes an agreement for the long-time Chicago politician to cooperate with prosecutors. Arroyo was arrested last October and charged with bribery for his role in an alleged scheme to pay a fellow member of the state Senate $2,500 a…