LONGTIME CITY OFFICIAL CHARGED WITH THEFT OVER SERIES OF CREDIT CARD DISPUTES
Charge against Aviation Dept. official not connected to job
A longtime city official who currently works in the Department of Aviation has been accused of racking up thousands of dollars in purchases — including for booze and patio furniture — and then later disputing the charges.
George Coleman Jr., deputy commissioner for intergovernmental affairs at the Department of Aviation, was charged this week with one count of continuing financial crimes enterprise.
The charge is not connected to his job, according to Cook County prosecutors, for which city records show he is paid a salary of $135,624.
Coleman, 47, of Bronzeville, appeared at a bail hearing Tuesday afternoon, where he was ordered released on his own recognizance by Judge Susana Ortiz.
Coleman’s private defense attorney, Richard Fenbert, told Ortiz that Coleman had a “reasonable explanation” for disputing the charges and said Coleman planned to do so. Fenbert declined to comment further after the hearing.
Fenbert said Coleman, a lifelong resident of the city, has worked for the Department of Aviation for a year and has worked for the city for 25 years.
Prosecutors said Coleman made the purchases on his American Express cards between August 2018 and June this year. He first disputed a charge on Aug. 17, 2018, after purchasing wicker patio furniture from Ohana Depot for $1,304 with his phone, prosecutors said. The furniture was delivered to his home address and he signed a delivery slip, prosecutors said.
On March 6, Coleman purchased 37 bottles of alcohol from Binny’s Beverage Depot for $1,269 and then disputed the transaction four days later, prosecutors said.
Two months later, on May 12, he allegedly purchased a custom closet storage fixture from Closets by Design for $4,611. He tried to put a down payment on the purchase using his American Express card but was declined because he had closed the account.
Then he used a new American Express card for a $2,329 down payment, prosecutors said — a charge which was later disputed by Coleman.
Between the end of May and early June, Coleman made multiple purchases at Home Depot totaling more than $1,500, including at least two transactions in which he was recorded by video surveillance, prosecutors said. He later allegedly disputed those charges as well.
The sheer number of disputed transactions, prosecutors said, led American Express to open an investigation, during which it obtained surveillance footage from Home Depot and a recorded telephone transaction between Coleman and Closets by Design.
American Express reached out to the Cook County sheriff ’s department, which began its own investigation in September. Coleman was identified by a closet designer from Closets by Design in a photo array.
Coleman allegedly made admissions to making all the purchases after he was taken into custody, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Coleman was convicted of driving under the influence in 2015, for which he received a license suspension. He was also twice convicted of misdemeanor retail theft in the 1990s in other counties, prosecutors said.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Aviation did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
According to his bio on the department’s website, Coleman is responsible for federal, state and local legislative affairs, including issues before the City Council.
Previously, Coleman was deputy procurement officer of certification at the Department of Public Works and liaison to aldermen of the City Council, the bio states.