I'm shocked - shocked! - that there is corruption in suburbia. Ex-Oakbrook Terrace mayor pleads guilty in red-light camera scheme
OK. I'm not shocked at all.
It IS surprising to see The Outfit mentioned in a news article, even if only indirectly.
A longtime police officer who was elected mayor of Oakbrook Terrace in 2009, Ragucci is the latest to be convicted in a sweeping federal investigation into bribes and kickbacks involving red-light cameras installed by SafeSpeed LLC, which generates millions of dollars in fines from motorists each year in nearly two dozen Chicago suburbs.
Ragucci resigned from office more than two years ago amid revelations of the federal investigation.
They said (they including the former mayor) that the red-light-cameras would "encourage safe driving." What they actually did was line people's pockets.
In all the red-light cameras in Oakbrook Terrace, a suburb west of downtown Chicago, brought in a total of $17 million. The former mayor, allegedly pocketed $88,000.
It’s unclear from the charges how much money ultimately flowed to DSC Enterprises as part of the scheme, but according to available data, Oakbrook Terrace’s red-light cameras generated nearly $17 million in revenue from 2017 to April 2021. Based on the amount of that money that went to SafeSpeed, the cut for DSC would have been about $900,000.
That's a lot of money in about 4 years.
DSC Enterprises was started by Dennis Colucci and run by his sons, James and Joseph Colucci, after his death. They have pleaded not-guilty to related charges.
News reports and sources indicate Dennis Colucci’s ties to Outfit figures went back decades, though he never was charged with any mob-related activity.
In May 1977, Dennis Colucci was one of four alibi witnesses who testified on behalf of [Harry] Aleman, one of the Outfit’s most feared killers, who was on trial for the 1972 slaying of William Logan, a truck dispatcher and Teamsters union member.
There is more of course; this did take place in Illinois, after all.
The sprawling case also has ensnared then-state Sen. Martin Sandoval, the then-powerful head of the Senate Transportation Committee, Crestwood Mayor Louis Presta, and several longtime Democratic political operatives.
And for those who don't know, The Chicago Outfit is the Midwest branch of the American Mafia. It was once run by Al Capone. [Hat tip to Chicago Journal.]
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