Monday, August 4, 2014

Democrat fraud in Chicago gets the mildest slap on the wrist. Was it because he's a Dem or black?

State Rep. Ford pleads guilty to misdemeanor in bank fraud case

State Rep. LaShawn Ford pleaded guilty today to a single misdemeanor tax count after federal prosecutors agreed to drop 17 felony counts that he committed bank fraud and made false statements.
Ford’s lawyer, Thomas Anthony Durkin, praised the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the courage to drop the most serious charges against the four-term West Side legislator.
Ford appeared to have tears in his eyes after the court hearing.
The move by prosecutors represented vindication for Ford, but “we’re not doing any tap dancing right now,” Durkin told reporters in the lobby of the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse after the hearing.
By pleading guilty to only a misdemeanor, Ford will be able to hold onto his seat, Durkin said.
Ford, 42, faced potentially years in prison if he had been convicted on any of the felony counts. Under federal sentencing guidelines, he could be sentenced to up to 6 months in prison for his misdemeanor conviction for filing a false federal income tax return for 2007, but he likely faces probation in part as a first-time offender.
U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer set sentencing for Nov. 7.
Ford was charged in 2012 with lying to ShoreBank to obtain a $373,500 extension on a line of credit to fix six depressed real estate properties on the West Side. But the indictment alleged Ford used some of that money to pay off personal expenses, including car loans, credit cards, mortgages, campaign costs and payments to a Hammond casino.
The charges had nothing to do with his responsibilities as a state lawmaker.
From the beginning Ford had disputed the charges, blaming the indictment on the banks’s failure and declaring, “I’m no fraud.”
In June his lawyers sought to dismiss the charges by alleging that prosecutors had targeted because of he was a politician and African-American. Prosecutors disputed the allegation, and Pallmeyer denied the motion to dismiss.
Ford had once been scheduled to go on trial beginning today.

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