Andre P. Johnson cut a dapper figure as he tooled around the South Side with Ald. Arenda Troutman.
An elder in his Baptist church, the slender 38-year-old ran a bevy of investment firms and claimed to be an attorney and real estate adviser.
In fact, Johnson was a twice-convicted felon who was the target of civil lawsuits alleging mortgage fraud.
And in addition to his elegant suits and designer eyeglasses, he wore an unusual accessory: a hidden FBI tape recorder.
Referred to in government documents as “cooperating witness-2,” Johnson is the undercover mole whose wiretapped conversations with Troutman form the basis of the federal bribery charge filed against her Monday, court records and interviews show.
The records portray him as a man who has made a living by shifting his identity to appear to be someone he was not. And so he joins the procession of colorful rogues who became FBI moles to assist federal corruption investigations in Chicago.
“He would prey on his congregation, ask them to refinance their houses or get them to invest with him,” said attorney Michelle Morrone, who filed a pending civil lawsuit accusing Johnson of fraud.
Public records show Johnson lives in South Holland. Repeated attempts over two days to talk to people inside his home were unsuccessful. He did not respond to requests for comment through an attorney who has represented him in the past.
Chicago has had a storied roster of government snitches–moles like John Christopher, the mob-connected contractor who doled out more than $150,000 in bribes in 3 1/2 years of 1990s undercover work. Before him, con man and murderer Michael Raymond posed as a corrupt businessman for an FBI sting that led to the convictions of 15 people, including Chicago aldermen and county officials. And former gambling crew boss William “B.J.” Jahoda made tape-recorded conversations that helped convict clout-heavy crime bosses in the 1990s.
History cobbled together
Johnson’s hidden role was confirmed by sources familiar with the case, and his history was cobbled together from hundreds of pages of court records and interviews.
Johnson was 18 when he received his first adult conviction on a misdemeanor charge of false impersonation.
At 20, he misrepresented himself to bankers as a man rolling in cash, but the $17,000 in bad checks he deposited brought him his first felony conviction. In 1989 he was sentenced to community service and 2 years’ probation for that felony theft conviction.
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Five years later, when a police officer pulled him over for a traffic violation, Johnson tried to explain the 9mm pistol holstered on his belt by claiming to be a cop. He was convicted of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and impersonating a police officer and was placed on another 2 years’ probation.
Zedrick Braden III, an attorney who represented Johnson on a 1990s bad-check charge, said Johnson was charming and a classy dresser. “He was always polite and always a gentlemen,” said Braden.
An initial FBI affidavit in the Troutman case said the bureau was not aware that Johnson had a criminal background. The FBI said it learned of Johnson’s criminal past “after the government received information/an inquiry regarding CW2’s background from a third party.” A source said that third party was a Tribune reporter.
Troutman’s attorney, Sam Adam Jr., said that corrected mistake “corroborates what I said when this case came out on Monday: The government is relying on nothing but a con man–proven time and time again to be a liar.”
Adam said: “This person has impersonated lawyers, has been convicted of theft, and we’re supposed to believe that the agent who worked closely with him didn’t know it?”
Security guard now
Despite his arrests, Johnson has been a licensed security guard since 1992, other records show, and his license was renewed last year.
But it was in the world of real estate dealing on the South Side that Johnson has played his most elaborate roles. He gained trust by working through a church.
Rev. Van W. Wells, the pastor at the Bishop G.B. Pickens Memorial Temple, at 57th Street and Union Avenue, said Johnson joined the church in the 1990s, after his convictions.
Wells said Johnson was his driver and a church elder from about 1999 to 2001.
In 1999, Wells and Johnson incorporated a non-profit company called Wells City of Hope Inc. to build a $16 million senior citizen and medical center.
Wells said the project was to be located across the street from the 5730 S. Halsted St. project Johnson used to ensnare Troutman in connection with the criminal charges.
Met in Troutman’s office
Wells recalled that he and Johnson had one meeting on the project in Troutman’s City Hall office about a year ago.
State records show Johnson was president of the charity until it was dissolved in 2005. The project was dropped for lack of funding, Wells said.
By 2003, Johnson had created several investment firms with impressive sounding names, including Andre Johnson and Associates LLC. But that year he also filed for bankruptcy, claiming in court papers that he was unemployed and had debts totaling $194,414–much of it from credit card bills.
Today, he faces at least four pending civil lawsuits accusing him of taking part in mortgage fraud. In one case, he worked with an appraiser later imprisoned for mortgage fraud.
The FBI was investigating Johnson for alleged mortgage fraud when he became an informant and helped set up Troutman, court records show.
According to federal prosecutors, Johnson helped Troutman obtain a $300,000 mortgage loan from Harris Bank by inflating her salary. According to the criminal complaint against Troutman, Johnson fraudulently stated in a letter to Harris Bank that Troutman was a $30,000-a-year consultant for his law firm. That loan ultimately was approved.
In one of the civil cases against Johnson, Calumet Park resident Patricia Petway alleged Johnson defrauded her by having her secure a $310,000 Harris Bank loan, then giving the proceeds to him.
The Harris Bank loan officer allegedly involved in the Petway loan also served as the notary when Troutman signed papers to obtain her Harris Bank loan, according to records filed with the Cook County recorder of deeds.
The loan officer, who has not been charged with any crime, did not return calls for comment. Petway’s attorney alleges the loan officer inflated Petway’s salary by $100,000 to expedite the loan application.
Appraiser imprisoned
Records filed in Petway’s case show Johnson obtained a suspect property appraisal from Walter Jackson, an appraiser who was sentenced to 5 years in prison in September for financial identity theft and forgery.
In a separate pending case, Los Angeles resident Tanya Henderson in 2004 filed a lawsuit against Johnson alleging he forged her signature and used her identity.
According to Henderson, she intended to purchase a property and gave Johnson a limited power of attorney. Without her knowledge, she said, he used her identity to obtain a $141,000 mortgage loan from Harris Bank. “He took that power of attorney and abused it,” Henderson said in an interview.
Harris Bank spokeswoman Chris Nardella said the bank could not comment.
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