Former Illinois State Sen. Tom Cullerton pleads guilty to embezzling from Teamsters in ghost-payrolling scheme, and faces up to 18 months in prison when he's sentenced in June.
Former Illinois State Sen. Tom Cullerton pleaded guilty on Tuesday in a federal embezzlement case, admitting he took more than $250,000 in salary and benefits in a ghost-payrolling scheme involving the Teamsters labor union., shortly before his defense attorney told a federal judge he planned to plead guilty to the case.
According to the indictment, Cullerton conspired with former Teamsters boss John Coli to arrange for a do-nothing job with the union in 2013.Indiana, Wisconsin, 10 Other States Removed From Chicago's COVID-19 Travel Advisory Two months after taking office in 2013, the president of Teamsters Joint Council 25, based in Park Ridge, hired Cullerton as a union organizer, with a full-time salary, as well as health and pension benefits from Local 734, according to the feds.
According to the indictment, Cullerton continued to take a salary from the Teamsters union even when he was attending Illinois Senate session days in Springfield.