Grand Jury Hands Down 317 Felony Indictments Following Investigation of IT Contracts at Forest Preserve District of DuPage County; Crickets Chirping

PART THREE OF A COUNTYLEAKS SERIES...

A grand jury handed down a total of 317 felony indictments to three men last week following an investigation of information technology (IT) contracts at the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, Circuit Court on-line records disclosed.

The District's former director of its IT department, Mark McDonald, and the department manager, David Tepper, were each charged with 140 felony counts, while a third man, Arif Mahmood, who worked for Alamach Technology, Inc., an IT vendor for the district, was charged with 37 counts.

The charges were handed down on Oct. 31st and filed the following day, yet to date, there has been no public announcement of this staggering number of indictments by the DuPage County State's Attorney's office.

Lending perspective to these numbers, former Gov. George Ryan had 18 felony indictments in 2003 and former Gov. Rod Blagojevich had "only" 16 counts in 2009.

The majority of felony charges listed against McDonald and Tepper include "accepting a kickback," "unlawful participation," "official misconduct - performing a forbidden act," and "theft by deception with intent to deprive." Charges against Mahmood consist mostly of "accepting a kickback" with one count each of "theft by deception with intent to deprive" and "official misconduct - accepting bribe to influence public officials, public employees, juror or witness."

Superseding indictment charges of "conspiracy" were also issued for theft, unlawful participation, and kickbacks between Feb. 25, 2010 and Oct. 25, 2011 "at and within DuPage County."

Despite the 149 "accepting kickback" felony counts, there are no charges of providing kickbacks, suggesting that at least one other party has yet to be disclosed.

Click HERE for felony counts against Mark McDonald 

Case #2012CF001735

Click HERE for felony counts against David Tepper

Case #2012CF001736

Click HERE for felony counts against Arif Mahmood

Case # 2012CF001737

The Durante Family; The Making of a Marriage Between the DuPage Forest Preserve District & State's Attorney's Office

PART TWO OF A COUNTYLEAKS SERIES...

Invoices submitted to the DuPage Forest Preserve District in 2011 show that the son of local GOP-heavyweight Pat Durante engaged in the "internal investigation" which led to recent "fraud scheme" charges against former employees and a vendor, inflaming more concerns of fairness and justice due to the District's historic political ties with the DuPage State's Attorney's office, as reported earlier this week in CountyLeaks.

In September 2012, the District's former director of its information technology (IT) department, Mark McDonald, and the department manager, David Tepper, were accused of of "stealing more than $100,000 from the district over a six-year period". A third man, Arif Mahmood, who worked for Alamach Technology, Inc., an IT vendor for the district, was charged with "being involved in one of the schemes", the Daily Herald reported.

Local government citizen watchdogs claim vendors contracted by the Forest Preserve District to conduct this internal IT investigation and to handle the crisis strategies surrounding the criminal charges have connections with the DuPage State's Attorney's office which are too close for comfort. The District's hiring of a finance director this year also brings concerns of a conflict of interest with the County's prosecutor.

One of those vendors is JRM Consulting, Inc. of Naperville, contracted in 2011 to conduct an audit of the IT Department.  Unknown to the public and not mentioned in their contract was the true scope of work -- to conduct an "internal computer forensics investigation" at the Forest Preserve.  The results of the months long investigation was presented to the State's Attorney's office on Nov. 21st.

Now watchdogs have received invoices showing that Vince Durante, son of Pat Durante, was working for JRM in some capacity -- as an employee, freelancer or subcontractor -- to participate in this "internal investigation".

The State of Illinois database reports that Vincent Durante of DuPage County is an employee of the Illinois Department of Transportation as a "technical manager V" with a salary of $81,183.07. He was featured recently in the ABC-7 News Special Segment, "Road Warriors", using high-tech tools to fix potholes. His hourly rate at IDOT averages $39 per hour while JRM billed the Forest Preserve District $150 per hour for Durante's services.

Pat Durante has served on the Board of Directors of the Regional Transit Authority since his appointment in 1995 and chairs the RTA's Audit Committee.

Can't See the Forest for the Sleaze: Happy Trails Between the DuPage County's Forest Preserve District & State's Attorney's Office

"Happy trails to you, until we meet again.
Happy trails to you, keep smilin' until then.
Who cares about the clouds when we're together?
Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather.
Happy trails to you, 'til we meet again." -- Dale Evans Rogers

Recent "fraud scheme" charges against former employees and a vendor of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County raise disturbing questions of fairness and even legitimacy due to the District's historic cronyism with the DuPage State's Attorney's office. Of the 145 miles of trails at the Forest Preserve, the most consequential is invisible -- leading straight from the District's headquarters on Naperville Road to the law enforcers' office at 503 N. County Farm Road in Wheaton.

On Sept. 5th, Paul Biasco reported in the Daily Herald's, "DuPage Forest Preserve Employees Charged in Fraud Scheme," that the former director of information technology department, Mark McDonald, and the department manager, David Tepper, were accused of "stealing more than $100,000 from the district over a six-year period".

The article continued that a third man, Arif Mahmood, who worked for Alamach Technology, Inc., an IT vendor for the district, was charged with "being involved in one of the schemes".

Local government citizen watchdogs claim vendors contracted by the Forest Preserve District to conduct this internal IT investigation and to handle the crisis strategies surrounding the criminal charges have connections with the DuPage State's Attorney's office which are too close for comfort. The District's hiring of a finance director this year also bring concerns of a conflict of interest with the County's prosecutor.

The Daily Herald, in conjunction with the Better Government Association, published, "FBI Joins Probe of DuPage Forest District Contracts," on Aug. 2nd. "The FBI is 'part of the investigation,' (DuPage Forest Preserve District President) Pierotti said, along with the state's attorney's office," Andrew Schroedter and Elizabeth Mistretta wrote.

Despite outcries from citizens over months, the Forest Preserve District continues to have no Ethics Commission, as required by law. The District's ethics policy meets the minimal state standard with no amendments. Click here and here for the District's reactions to citizens who dare to question the investigation and FBI probe.

Winnebago County Judge Joe McGraw Elected Chief Judge; McGraw Acquitted McHenry County State's Attorney Lou Bianchi of Criminal Charges Twice in Directed Verdicts

Winnebago County Judge Joseph McGraw, who this year ruled in favor of McHenry County State’s Attorney Louis Bianchi in two swift directed verdicts, has been elected to serve as Chief Judge for the 17th Circuit beginning Jan. 1, 2012 by an unanimous vote of circuit judges in Winnebago and Boone Counties.

Following Bianchi's first trial last March, Thomas McQueen, special prosecutor of Bianchi, requested that McGraw recuse himself because he had been paid by the Illinois Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor (ILSAAP) -- the same agency which has been involved in multiple other aspects of Bianchi's case. The Chicago Tribune quoted McGraw, "These accusations...when considered in context, do not create even the appearance of impropriety."

Undaunted by allegations of conflicts of interest, McGraw refused to step down and the following week instructed at another ILSAAP seminar held in Naperville, billing taxpayers $3,125. 

McGraw acquitted Bianchi in a second directed verdict last August. Directed verdicts, considered unusual to occur even once, allowed Bianchi defense attorney Terry Ekl to win both trials without presenting any evidence. Bianchi opted for bench trials.

McGraw, a former assistant state's attorney, has received $21,529 from ILSAAP for seminar instruction since 2005 according to state documents. Another payment of $3,125 is expected to be made by the entity for seminar work in September 2011.

Same Tech Firm Examined Computers in High-Profile Cases Involving McHenry and Edgar Counties, Unreported Ties with DuPage County Brotherhood

McHenry County State's Attorney Louis Bianchi requested Protek, a high-tech-crime investigative firm, to search a computer hard-drive in October 2007 -- the beginning of a long saga of investigations and special prosecutions. Protek also had a role in retrieving emails of media consultants Reverse Spin in response to a court order in the ongoing Steidl-Whitlock federal civil lawsuit. Attorney Terry Ekl of DuPage County represents defendants in both cases.  

Protek's co-owner is a former DuPage County Assistant State's Attorney, the former first chief of the High Technology Crimes Bureau of the Illinois Attorney General's Office, and former counsel at Ekl's firm.  

Protek International, Inc., a Clarendon Hills-based firm specializing in investigations and advisory services related to cyber crime, inspected evidence from computer hard drives -- one in 2007, eventually becoming ground zero in several McHenry County special prosecutions, and the other in 2008, revealing an elaborate behind-the-scenes smear campaign against perceived threats in the Steidl-Whitlock federal civil lawsuits, including Medill Innocence Project and its former director, Prof. David Protess.

Protek's co-owner Keith Chval is a former assistant state's attorney in DuPage County from 1989 through 1996 under Jim Ryan and Joe Birkett. Chval then began working again for Ryan at the Illinois Attorney General's Office's High Technology Crimes Bureau, later holding the position of first chief. When he established Protek in 2005, he joined the law firm of Connolly, Ekl & Williams, P.C., also located in Clarendon Hills at that time. Terry Ekl represents defendants in theses cases involving Protek.

Protek & McHenry County State's Attorney Louis Bianchi 

In October 2007, McHenry County State's Attorney Louis Bianchi hired Protek to examine the contents of a hard drive in his office following a tip. "An unnamed informant" phoned the office's chief investigator Ron Salgado that a female employee "close to Bianchi" had transferred office computer files onto a jump or zip drive, accounts the article Daily Herald's Chuck Keeshan wrote after reviewing court records, "Bianchi's Office Knew of Files". Salgado was also Bianchi's campaign manager. 

Bianchi hired and paid Protek directly to analyze a hard drive from his office, instead of the conventional approach of going through the state's attorney's office. Later Bianchi sent the hard drive to the Illinois State Police and specifically requested Orland Park attorney David O'Connor be appointed special prosecutor to investigate the matter.

Targeting David Protess Six Years -- ARDC Complaint Latest Maneuver by the DuPage County Brotherhood

A complaint submitted last month to the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois (ARDC) makes strong accusations, not only against a former attorney of convicted killer Alstory Simon, but others as well. Most notable is David Protess, former director of the Medill Innocence Project at Northwestern University.

The ARDC complaint was filed exactly one week before the nationally-publicized ruling that Medill and Protess turn over their emails from the Anthony McKinney investigation to Cook County prosecutors involving another case.

This time, however, the drumbeat against Protess (and not so indirectly Medill) didn't bang from Cook County. Instead it came from from a small DuPage County band of brothers who have persistently targeted Protess for six years. 

The ARDC complaint was filed exactly one week before the nationally-publicized ruling that Medill and Protess turn over their emails from the Anthony McKinney investigation to Cook County prosecutors involving another case.

The DuPage Connections

DuPage County defense attorneys Terry Ekl and James Sotos currently represent Simon, whose confession of a 1982 double homicide in Chicago exonerated Anthony Porter in 1999. Simon is serving a 37-year sentence at the Danville Correctional Center. 

Just 50 hours away from lethal injection, Porter caught the attention of then-Gov. George Ryan who declared a moratorium on executions the following year. The former death row inmate unwittingly had become the catalyst for the moratorium and the movement to abolish the death penalty. Porter and those who worked to exonerate him, including the Medill Innocence Project, didn't sit well with certain groups -- particularly Illinois state's attorneys.

Ekl and Sotos, described by Chicago Tribune's Eric Zorn as "two lawyers cast in unlikely role as crusaders", developed a sudden interest in the plight of Simon shortly after Randy Steidl filed a wrongful conviction lawsuit in 2005. Steidl and Herb Whitlock had been convicted for the 1986 murders of Dyke and Karen Rhoads in Paris, Ill. A similar lawsuit was filed by Whitlock following his release in 2008; the same court is hearing both cases.

Ekl's firm represents former Edgar County State's Attorney Michael McFatridge while Sotos' firm represents the city of Paris. With the potential to be among the largest wrongful conviction verdicts in Illinois history, the Steidl-Whitlock cases have state, county and local entities worried. The trial is scheduled for January.  

Whose Side Is He On? Prominent Illinois Press Attorney Donald Craven Worked for the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor

Well-known Illinois media attorney Donald Craven received over $50,000 from ILSAAP starting in December 2008. During this time, Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez was embroiled in a nationally-publicized subpoena dispute with the Medill Innocence Project and Northwestern Prof. David Protess. Medill and Protess were also targets of a smear campaign in an ongoing wrongful conviction lawsuit. State records show Craven performed legal services for ILSAAP in this same lawsuit.

Illinois media attorney Donald Craven of Springfield was paid $51,300 by the Illinois Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor (ILSAAP) for roughly 250 hours of legal services from December 2008 through June 2010. ILSAAP was created to provide services to state's attorneys including appellate cases, certain drug-related cases and special prosecutions. (725 ILCS 210) 

Craven serves as general counsel to the Illinois Press Association, the Illinois Broadcasters Association and the Illinois News Broadcasters Association. According to his website, his expertise includes subpoenas compelling journalists to testify and turn over notes, tapes and photographs that were not published or broadcast.

While Craven worked for ILSAAP, Cook County State's Attorney and ILSAAP Board of Governors member Anita Alvarez was embroiled in a subpoena dispute with the Medill Innocence Project and Prof. David Protess over notes and other materials related to the Northwestern students' investigation of Anthony McKinney. McKinney had been convicted in a 1978 shotgun slaying in Harvey. Briefs submitted by Alvarez' office contained legal arguments with multiple citations of media law.

Medill has investigated over 50 cases, leading to the exoneration of 12 people -- five of whom had been sentenced to death. New York Times media writer David Carr wrote, "The students who worked on the McKinney case were probably not expecting a thank-you note from prosecutors, but they weren’t expecting a subpoena either."

After a power struggle lasting over two years, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Diane Cannon, a former assistant state's attorney, ruled last week that emails between Protess and the Medill students should be turned over to prosecutors.

  

Craven was quoted in news articles regarding this nationally publicized tug-of-war, including the Chicago Tribune: "They're either trying to undermine the investigation, or they're trying to undermine the entire project," and the New York Times: "Take to its logical conclusion, what they're trying to do is dismantle the project."