from the Daily Southtown:
Genova convicted of racketeering
Cal City mayor also found guilty of theft, mail fraud
Tuesday, August 28, 2001
By John Dobberstein
Staff writer
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After promising to clean up the dirty, corrupt suburb of Calumet
City eight years ago, Mayor Jerry Genova walked out of a federal
courtroom Monday a fallen man who will no longer call the shots
from a spacious office at city hall.
Genova's road to political stardom caved in when a jury, in its
fourth day of deliberations, convicted the 38-year-old mayor on
charges of racketeering, mail fraud and theft of funds.
A nervous, tired-looking Genova shook his head once but showed
little emotion as U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly read the
verdict before a courtroom full of family, friends and onlookers.
Two of Genova's loyalists — city prosecutor Lawrence Gulotta
and former public works boss Jerome Stack — also were
convicted of racketeering Monday.
Gulotta also was convicted of mail fraud and theft of funds,
while Stack also was convicted of theft of funds.
Stripped immediately of the mayor's post because of the
conviction, Genova refused to comment on the verdict as he pushed
through a horde of reporters waiting in the lobby of the Dirksen
Federal Building in downtown Chicago.
After Genova took the hand of his wife, Rosemaria, the couple
walked onto Dearborn Street, climbed into a waiting cab and sped
off.
"What he did, he did in good faith," Anton Valukas,
Genova's attorney, said afterward. Valukas, a former U.S.
attorney, said he took issue with some of the instructions given
to the jury,and he would address those issues in post-trial
motions.
Genova and his co-defendants each face a maximum of 20 years in
prison, though prosecutors said the three men probably would not
receive the maximum penalties. No sentencing date was set Monday.
Valukas didn't answer questions about Genova's promise to
reimburse taxpayers for his legal defense if he was convicted.
The city has already paid an estimated $800,000 to Jenner &
Block, Valukas' firm, for the mayor's defense. A source familiar
with the case said the total bill is probably well over $1
million by now.
The city's insurance agent, St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance
Co., filed a federal lawsuit in April claiming it doesn't have to
pay for Genova's legal defense because he wasn't being prosecuted
for actions that are part of his job.
Prosecutors, who faced stiff challenges from defense lawyers,
appeared relieved as they spoke about the verdict.
"The mayor and city officials have a trust that they owe to
the people, and they can't steal funds from them for their
personal gain," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon King said.
"(The jury) found there was a bribe relationship between the
mayor and the city prosecutor, and the fees were considered part
of doing business with the city."
"Corruption has been widespread there for years and
years," added Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Masciopinto.
The jury's foreman, James Avolio, a Chicago man with five
children, said jurors painstakingly went through the government's
complex case.
"We didn't leave anything out. Every single thing, we went
over backwards and forwards. ... It all added up to a certain
pattern," said Avolio, a retired Continental Can worker.
"Everyone was in there with intentions to do good. We talked
about every part of the indictment and asked each person what
they felt. We can't bring a conviction if we don't feel it's all
there."
Watching Genova's conviction with delight was George Skagerberg,
a Calumet City activist who claims he signed one of the first
complaints, in March 1997, that brought federal agents into town.
"Genova has raped and pillaged the city for eight years, and
I'm glad the government stepped in," Skagerberg said.
"He decided to take the corrupt path, and he's paying for it
now."
After a three-year FBI investigation, a federal grand jury last
year indicted Genova, Gulotta and Stack, accusing them of raiding
taxpayer funds and using city employees for their personal
benefit.
Genova and Gulotta, 54, were accused of masterminding a kickback
scheme that netted Genova $126,000 in payments from Gulotta's
firm between 1994 and 1997. In return, prosecutors said, Genova
steered city legal business to the firm.
Both men were convicted of mail fraud related to the scheme
because Genova failed to disclose payments from Gulotta's law
firm on Statement of Economic Interest forms mailed to the Cook
County clerk's ethics department.
Genova was convicted on one of the three counts of mail fraud,
while Gulotta was convicted of all three.
Genova, Gulotta and Stack, 42, were all convicted on two counts
of stealing and misusing legal fees, city funds and comp days.
On Monday, defense attorneys noted the five-man, seven-woman jury
did not find that the defendants committed all the crimes the
government said they did.
The racketeering charge against the three defendants accused them
of engaging in a pattern of criminal activity that included
everything from bribery to official misconduct, intimidation to
mail fraud.
The charge contained 39 different elements, though prosecutors
did not have to prove Genova and the co-defendants committed all
39 acts in order for the jury to find them guilty of
racketeering.
As part of its verdict on the racketeering charge, the jury found
Genova committed bribery, mail fraud and official misconduct in
some of his dealings with Gulotta in 1995, 1996 and 1997.
Jurors also said Genova was guilty of intimidation against a
local jeweler, when Genova threatened to pull off-duty Calumet
City police officers from a security detail at the jewelry store
after a store employee publicly criticized him. But they said his
acts did not rise to the degree of extortion.
They said they didn't find enough evidence that Genova hired four
ghost payrollers exclusively to do political work for him in
1997. Allegations that he ordered public works employees to
remodel his home also did not stick.
The jury said Stack committed official misconduct and bribery by
hiring four public works employees to do political work for
Genova between January 1996 and September 1998, when Genova was
running for his second term as mayor and, later, vying for state
treasurer.
But jurors didn't find enough evidence that Stack committed
official misconduct and bribery in asking five city employees to
buy tickets for Genova's 1997 political fundraisers at three
south suburban golf courses.
Witness credibility became a key issue in the four-week trial.
Paul Kowalczyk, a public works supervisor and the lead carpenter
on Genova's home improvements, admitted he lied to FBI agents, as
did public works employees Travis Calvillo and Paul Wolframski.
Stack's father, Joseph Stack, blasted the jury's findings.
"They have a guy who lies on the witness stand, admitted
lying to the grand jury and lying to this jury, and they still
use him to put my son in jail," he said.
Joseph Stack said he stands by his son.
"I'm proud of him. He's a good boy, and a good father,
too."
Stack's attorney, Ed Genson, did not return calls seeking
comment, nor did Gulotta or his attorney, Stanley Hill.
U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo, who presided over the case
but was in Washington, D.C., Monday on vacation, issued a bench
verdict finding Gulotta guilty on all of the charges against him.
"Today is a sad day for the citizens of Calumet City, but it
is not the end — only the beginning of a new chapter,"
Castillo said in his written order. Castillo said the
government's case "overwhelmingly" established
Gulotta's guilt.
Castillo said he will recommend that the Illinois Attorney
Registration and Disciplinary Commission disbar Genova and
Gulotta, "because of their knowing participation in the
criminal conduct proven during the trial of this case."
Castillo said he will also recommend the commission disbar
Gulotta's law partner, Ronald Kawanna, for "willfully
committing trial perjury during the trial."
John Dobberstein may be reached at
jdobberstein@dailysouthtown.com or (708) 633-5992.