The former longtime chief of staff to Chicago Ald. Howard Brookins had been scheduled to plead guilty for weeks, but for a moment Thursday in federal court it appeared it might fall through after all.
A federal prosecutor had just detailed the bribery allegations against Curtis V. Thompson Jr. The judge then asked Thompson if that account was true.
He hesitated.
“There’s some flaws in the statement,” Thompson said.
But after huddling in the hallway with his attorneys for a few minutes, Thompson returned to the courtroom to announce it was all a misunderstanding, admitting he had pocketed a holiday payoff last year — a Christmas envelope stuffed with $7,500 in cash.
At the center of the case was one of a Chicago alderman’s most coveted powers — influence over who obtains a city license to sell alcohol in the ward. A young real estate developer who wanted a liquor license for a convenience store he planned to open in the 21st Ward made it clear he was willing to pay for the privilege. What Thompson didn’t realize — in spite of the developer’s brazen openness — was that he was working undercover for the FBI.
Brookins has not been charged with any wrongdoing, but in court papers, prosecutors have alleged he attended two meetings with the developer, including one he secretly videotaped in which he passed a note to the alderman that said “12K to you” in return for a letter of support. Brookins turned his head “slightly sideways” as he looked at the paper, then passed it to an aide who handed it to Thompson, prosecutors have said.
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Thompson ended up preparing two letters of support for the developer on the alderman’s letterhead — after obtaining Brookins’ support to do so, according to Thompson’s plea agreement. Thompson was led to believe both letters would go to 7-Eleven.
Brookins, a criminal defense attorney who chairs the City Council black caucus, couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday but has denied knowledge of the alleged bribe.
“I don’t run an office like that,” Brookins told the Tribune when the criminal complaint against Thompson was unsealed in late February. “We welcome business, and nobody — nobody — has to pay us to open a business in the 21st Ward.”
Thompson, 63, who pleaded guilty to a single bribery count, faces up to 18 months in prison under federal guidelines. U.S. District Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan set sentencing for March 17. The plea agreement makes no reference to him cooperating with the government.
The FBI informant, Mhde Askar, only in his 20s, worked with federal authorities for six years on a number of cases after he was arrested in 2008 in a massive mortgage fraud scheme. He was sentenced to probation in May after prosecutors cited his undercover work.
According to the plea agreement, Askar initially offered $7,500 in a note he showed Thompson at a meeting in October 2013. Thompson read the note and responded, “OK. I understand. I understand,” prosecutors said.
A few weeks later, during a meeting in Brookins’ office, the alderman told Askar he wasn’t likely to support a new liquor license in his South Side ward.
It was then Askar explained that he had a proposal “that would make everyone happy” and handed Brookins a sheet of paper with a note that offered $12,000 for support of the liquor license. Brookins looked at the paper, then handed it to an aide who passed it to Thompson.
Two days later the FBI recorded Thompson telling an associate that the alderman had changed his mind about the liquor license. But Thompson had serious reservations about the developer’s bribery tactics, prosecutors alleged.
“He needs to quit writing things down, you know,” prosecutors quoted Thompson as saying.
At a meeting with Askar at the ward office in November, Brookins expressed his support for the convenience store project. Askar then asked Brookins which person he should go to in order “to hold up my end” and asked if Brookins was “good with the same arrangement,” according to the plea agreement.
Prosecutors said Brookins eventually authorized Thompson to write two letters of support.
At the alderman’s holiday party last December, Askar handed a red envelope to Thompson containing 75 hundred-dollar bills inside a Christmas card. Thompson patted its contents and said, “Thanks,” according to the charges.
Federal prosecutors said Thompson, who worked for Brookins for about 12 years, used the $7,500 to pay off personal expenses.
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