A former employee of the Cook County Board of Review was sentenced to three months in prison and at least one year of probation Tuesday for taking bribes to fix tax appeals on more than two dozen properties.
Danilo Barjaktarevic, who was a deputy at the board responsible for helping property owners appeal their real estate tax valuations, pleaded guilty in September to one count of bribery. Federal prosecutors had asked for up to 2½ years in prison, while Barjaktarevic’s lawyers were seeking probation.“Probation would send the wrong message,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Peabody told the judge in the hearing at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse. “This was about greed.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman told Barjaktarevic that “making a mistake doesn’t, in and of itself, mean you’re a bad person. It just means you did something wrong.” Unbeknownst to Barjaktarevic, an individual named in documents only as “CS-1″ was a confidential source operating at the direction of the FBI, according to the plea. Barjaktarevic told the source he would accept $2,000 to lower assessments for each commercial property, while he would charge $1,000 for each residential property, for a total cost to CS-1 of $43,000, the legal document states. Half was due upfront, which the plea said was paid around Jan. 7, 2021.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Hundreds pack DuPage County Board meeting to criticize, laud sheriff over assault weapons banDuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick is being criticized and lauded in a packed county board meeting over the Illinois assault weapons ban.
Read more »
Conservative lawmakers push for review of school board group’s guidance on transgender studentsA far-right caucus asked Attorney General Ken Paxton to weigh in on school board association’s guidance for navigating complex issues related to transgender youth. Texas discrimination TexasSchools TexasEducation transrights LGBTQ
Read more »
Mayor Wilson says Salt Lake County is resilient and 'stronger together' in annual addressSalt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson proclaimed Salt Lake County is resilient and 'stronger together' when people collaborate to tackle issues.
Read more »
'We're not going to let this die': Push for DuPage County sheriff to retract statement growsCongressmen, state lawmakers and county board members are continuing to call on DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick to retract his statement on the state's weapons ban or resign.
Read more »
Judge picks Allen County for jury selection in Delphi murders trialGull's order states that jurors will be selected from Allen County. The county seat of Allen County is Fort Wayne.
Read more »