A city supervisor was accused Wednesday of using taxpayer money to buy kitchen cabinets, custom counter tops, power tools and other materials for his side job rehabbing homes.
Kevin O’Gorman, a general foreman of trades, diverted more than $50,000 in goods from a city lumber contractor for his own use from early 2003 to 2005, and then filed false paperwork in an attempt to cover up the theft, according to the city’s inspector general’s office.
Anthony Pilas, a carpenter and an employee of O’Gorman’s in the city Department of General Services, allegedly helped in the scheme. Both men face felony charges of theft of property and official misconduct. They appeared in Cook County Circuit Court Wednesday and were released on $50,000 bail.
The inspector general also alleged that an unidentified general manager for the contractor, Arrow Lumber Co., had known of the scheme. Officials with Arrow Lumber, which has done about $3.5 million in business with the city since 2002, did not return a telephone call seeking comment.
O’Gorman, 48, has political ties to both Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and Ald. Edward Burke (14 th ), according to records.
O’Gorman was sponsored for promotions in the 1990s by the 13th Ward Democratic Organization of which Madigan was chairman, and by the 14th Ward Democratic Organization led by Burke, according to a “clout list” entered into evidence at the trial last year of Mayor Richard Daley’s former patronage chief.
O’Gorman donated $475 to the political campaigns of Madigan’s daughter, Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan, and $650 to the 13th Ward between 2003 and 2007.
Madigan’s office did not respond to questions about the speaker’s relationship with O’Gorman. Burke said he does know O’Gorman.
Pilas, 39, is the son of Daniel Pilas, a supervisor of city water meter readers. Neither could be reached for comment.
Inspector General David Hoffman said that whom someone is related to or their political ties has no relevance to the investigation, which was conducted with the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.
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“It’s only a question of what the evidence is and whether a crime was committed,” Hoffman said.
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