Charges piling up in Hired TruckBy Matt O'ConnorTribune staff reporter February 26, 2005 In the second indictment in as many days, two former city foremen, a truck driver and two contractors were charged in the federal Hired Truck probe with stealing tons of city-owned asphalt for private paving projects in return for bribes. The indictment, unsealed Friday, adds four new defendants to the investigation. A fifth defendant, Patrick Stillo, a former city Department of Transportation foreman, had already been charged in November. Stillo, 50, and Robert Laino, 47, another former Transportation Department foreman, were accused of pocketing cash to allow hundreds of tons of asphalt to be diverted to private projects. Early Friday federal agents arrested Donald Warren, 58, of Robbins, a truck driver who was assigned to Laino's city crew; and Eddie Miller, 51, of South Holland, and Willie Brown, 74, of Chicago, both private contractors, authorities said. The three men later were released on their own recognizance. According to the charges, the stolen asphalt went to projects of Miller, Brown and other undisclosed paving contractors. While on city time, Warren delivered the asphalt in return for cash, the indictment charged. Laino also was accused of falsifying paperwork to make it appear Warren had put in a full day's work for the city on Laino's crew on days he had delivered the asphalt to the private work sites. All five defendants were charged with one count of mail fraud; Stillo and Laino, who were not arrested Friday, were charged with an additional count of bribery, authorities said. Laino's lawyer, George Collins, said his client is cooperating with federal authorities. Stillo's lawyer hadn't seen the indictment and declined to comment. The indictment brings to 27 the number of defendants charged in the probe of the city's Hired Truck Program, scheduled to be axed because of repeated problems; 14 of the defendants had worked for the city. On Thursday, six new defendants were charged as part of expanded charges against Donald Tomczak, the former No. 2 official in the city's water department who is accused of soliciting at least $500,000 for steering Hired Truck work to bribe-paying trucking companies. Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune |
