Ex-Crestwood mayor ‘lied to save himself,’ deserves prison, prosecutors say
Even though Crestwood Mayor Louis Presta was caught on undercover FBI video taking what he thought was a $5,000 bribe from a red-light camera company executive, when agents showed up at his door he decided to “double down,” federal prosecutors say.
“When confronted with a video of him accepting the envelope containing the cash, Presta said that there was no money in the envelope,” prosecutors wrote in a recent court filing. “He didn’t acknowledge his errors. He lied to save himself.”
That brazen denial is among the reasons prosecutors are asking for up to 2
years in prison for Presta, who resigned earlier this year after pleading guilty to charges of bribery, official misconduct and filing false tax returns.
Presta’s in-person sentencing hearing had been scheduled for Friday at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse but was canceled by U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin. A new date was not immediately set.
Presta, 71, a Democrat first elected mayor in 2013, admitted in a plea agreement with prosecutors that he accepted the envelope with $5,000 cash in March 2019 from Omar Maani, an executive at clout-heavy red-light camera company SafeSpeed LLC. Maani was actually cooperating with the FBI and the entire exchange was caught on an undercover camera.
Presta, who at the time was running for Cook County commissioner, took the money in exchange for helping SafeSpeed get more red-light cameras in the village and boost revenues from existing cameras by approving more violations, according to his plea agreement.
The sting was part of a wide-ranging political corruption investigation that has toppled a number of politicians and operatives in Chicago’s west and southwest suburbs.
In asking for probation, Presta’s attorney, Thomas
Breen, wrote in a recent court filing that Presta has lived an otherwise law-abiding life, including more than 30 years as an elected official in Crestwood, first as a trustee and later as mayor.
Breen said that a custodial sentence was unnecessary for Presta, who suffers from various health ailments and has already lost his career and embarrassed himself.
“Louis is ashamed because his actions in this case are an aberration to his esteemed life,” Breen wrote. “He cannot forgive himself, and knows that he caused the town he loves, Crestwood, to be bruised again by scandal.”
Prosecutors, however, noted that Presta’s actions were “not a momentary lapse in judgment,” and that “the ease with which he accepted this bribe is both troubling and telling.”
In fact, months before he even took the bribe, Presta solicited campaign donations from Maani during his unsuccessful run for county commissioner. The two agreed to disguise payment from Maani by having him pay cash to cover an invoice from an advertising firm, according to his plea agreement.
When later discussing the plan on the phone, Presta said, “I thought that maybe you were worried about giving me money. I thought maybe you could pay part of a bill there,” according to the plea.
The next day, Maani met with Presta and agreed to give him $4,100 in cash to cover the invoice. Both men understood the payment was in exchange for Presta’s help in making sure SafeSpeed’s red-light camera revenue would continue to “creep up higher,” the plea stated.
During one recorded phone call with Maani before taking the bribe, Presta touted a recent increase in violations, saying, “We’re starting to get the numbers again. You got a new sheriff in town,” according to the plea.
On March 7, 2018, Presta met with Maani, who gave the mayor the envelope containing $5,000 in cash and asked for his help obtaining a second red-light camera location in Crestwood. Presta accepted the envelope and said he would “do my best for you,” according to the plea.
After the bribe was paid, Maani asked Presta to keep
quiet about the money.
“Oh no. I’m glad nobody else is here. I can’t even put it in the bank,” Presta replied, according to the plea.
Among the politicians ensnared in the same probe was former state Sen. Martin Sandoval, who pleaded guilty and was cooperating with authorities when he died from COVID-19 complications in 2020.
Also charged were longtime Democratic operative Patrick Doherty and former Illinois state representative and Worth Township Supervisor John O’Sullivan. Doherty has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. O’Sullivan has pleaded guilty but has yet to be sentenced.
Maani, meanwhile, entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with prosecutors after he wore a wire for federal investigators.
Neither SafeSpeed nor any of its current owners has been charged with wrongdoing. CEO Nikki Zollar has said Maani was acting without the company’s knowledge.