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Ex school official, board member indicted in $800,000 scheme
A former North Chicago school board member and her district's transportation director took kickbacks totaling at least $800,000 over 10 years from contractors who had been awarded the district's lucrative school bus contracts, federal prosecutors said Thursday.Gloria Harper, 59, of North Chicago, was a member of the board of North Chicago Community Unit School District 187, and Alice Sherrod, 59, of Gurnee, was in charge of transportation for the district of 4,000 students, prosecutors said in announcing a 26-count indictment against them and three contractors. In 2001, the women started collecting $4,000 to $5,000 a month in exchange for sending business to suburban bus companies, but by 2003, they were receiving $20,000 a month, the indictment states. During that same time period, the women awarded $21 million in student bus contracts to companies that paid them off, the indictment reads. They and contractors Derrick Eubanks, 47 of Lake Villa; Tommie Boddie, 66, of Wadsworth; and Barrett White, 52, of Matteson, were charged with wire fraud and various other counts of soliciting or paying bribes. All but White were also charged with filing false income tax returns. Posted by: Fred 2011-07-15 |
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