Trump & Law Enforcement In Chicago For Partnerships & Indictments

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Feds allege state Rep. Luis Arroyo caught on undercover recording paying $2,500 bribe. ‘This is the jackpot.’

State Rep. Luis Arroyo, leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Oct. 28, 2019. Arroyo has been charged for allegedly agreeing to pay a state senator $2,500 a month in bribes in exchange for the senator’s support on legislation involving video gambling sweepstakes games that would benefit one of Arroyo’s lobbying clients.

State Rep. Luis Arroyo was supposed to be with his fellow lawmakers in Springfield on Monday for the first day of the busy fall veto session.

Instead, the Chicago Democrat was ducking reporters as he left the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago, where he was the latest elected official to be charged in what’s become a sprawling federal public corruption investigation.

Arroyo, 65, an assistant majority leader who has been in office since 2006, was charged with one count of federal program bribery alleging he agreed to pay a state senator $2,500 a month in kickbacks in exchange for the senator’s support on legislation involving video gambling sweepstakes games that would benefit one of Arroyo’s lobbying clients.

The 13-page criminal complaint, made public Monday, revealed that the undisclosed state senator allegedly targeted by Arroyo first began cooperating with the FBI in 2016 but was terminated as a confidential source after it was revealed he had filed false income tax returns.

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The senator later agreed to cooperate with the FBI again in the hopes for a break at sentencing on expected tax fraud charges, according to the complaint.

The senator was wearing a wire when Arroyo delivered the first of the promised $2,500 checks at a restaurant in Skokie on Aug. 22, the charges said.

“This is, this is the jackpot,” the complaint quoted Arroyo as telling the senator as he handed over the check.

Additional monthly $2,500 payments were expected to be made over the next six to 12 months, federal authorities alleged.

The charge against Arroyo marked the latest in a series of ongoing federal probes that have rocked political circles from Chicago to Springfield. Arroyo is the third elected official to be charged so far, joining longtime Chicago Ald. Edward Burke and state Sen. Thomas Cullerton.

Records show the FBI is also investigating state Sen. Martin Sandoval, Cook County Commissioner and McCook Mayor Jeff Tobolski, Lyons Mayor Chris Getty, Chicago Ald. Carrie Austin and officials in the suburbs of Summit and Cicero.

A separate probe delving into the lobbying practices of utility giant Commonwealth Edison has led to FBI raids on current and former lawmakers and political operatives, including several who are close confidants of House Speaker Michael Madigan.

None of those officials has been charged.

Arroyo, meanwhile, made his initial appearance in federal court Monday morning on one count of federal program bribery.

Clad in a gray suit with his hands folded in front of him, Arroyo answered “Yes” in a low voice when U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez asked if he understood his constitutional rights.

Arroyo, who was released on his own recognizance, was ordered to have no contact with anyone involved in the charges, including the senator and an undisclosed business owner whom Arroyo was allegedly trying to assist in the scheme.

Arroyo left the downtown courthouse without comment Monday afternoon, hurrying past reporters and cameramen into a waiting SUV that sped off down Dearborn Street. His lawyer, Michael Gillespie, also had no comment.

Arroyo’s court appearance came not long before the state House convened in Springfield for the first day of the fall veto session.

Madigan, the powerful Chicago Democrat, and House GOP leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs both called on Arroyo to step down or each vowed to begin the process to remove him from office under House rules. Madigan said he’d been told by Arroyo’s attorney that the legislator planned to resign as chair of the House Appropriations-Capital Committee.

“The actions today go to the heart of public trust in state government,” Durkin said. “Today begins the process of cleaning up this chamber.”

Madigan issued a statement calling for the strengthening of state ethics and lobbying laws. As he left a meeting Monday of the House Democratic caucus, a reporter asked about federal investigators seeking information about Madigan in a subpoena and search warrant served on the City Club of Chicago as part of a probe into whether ComEd hired politically connected lobbyists to curry favor with lawmakers in exchange for favorable action at the Illinois Capitol.

“I’m not a target of anything,” Madigan said.

According to the charges unveiled Monday, the undisclosed state senator told the FBI that Arroyo had approached him about "the passage of sweepstakes-related legislation” during the House’s spring session.

Arroyo is a manager of a lobbying firm called Spartacus 3 LLC, which includes as a client the owner of a company involved in video sweepstakes machines, according to the complaint.

In early August, Arroyo texted the senator asking to meet at a restaurant in Highland Park, according to the complaint. Also at the meeting was the company owner, identified only as Individual A, as well as one of the owner’s associates.

During the meeting, Arroyo said he was going to introduce a “trailer bill” in the veto session expanding the use of sweepstakes games and offered to make periodic payments to the senator in exchange for his support, according to the complaint. Arroyo told the businessman during the conversation that he wouldn’t be able to enlist the senator’s support unless it was legal.

“I cannot work as a legislator with somebody if it’s illegal,” Arroyo was quoted as saying. “I just can’t. ... I cannot be part of something illegal. That’s just like being part of the mob or being part of a gang that’s selling drugs.”

Arroyo then asked the senator to “carry the bill,” explaining that he doesn’t “have nobody in the Senate.”

After the senator told Arroyo to send him some language for the proposed bill, the two politicians left the table to speak privately, carrying on their conversation outside the restaurant as FBI agents conducted surveillance, according to the complaint.

“This is you and I talkin’ now. Nobody else," the senator said, according to the complaint.

“Whatever you tell me stays between you and me,” Arroyo allegedly responded. “That’s my word.”

During their purportedly private talk, the senator told Arroyo he was “in the twilight” of his career and was “looking for something" to bolster his income. Arroyo said he would “make sure that you’re rewarded for what you do, for what we’re gonna do moving forward,” the complaint alleged.

“Let’s be clear ... my word is my bond and my, my reputation,” Arroyo allegedly said.

Three weeks later, on Aug. 22, Arroyo and the senator met at the Skokie restaurant, the complaint alleged. Arroyo made the “jackpot” comment as he handed over the $2,500 check — written to a third party to disguise the purpose for the payoff, according to the charges.

“I’m not too happy about doing this, but I’m doin’ it for ya," the senator said near the end of the conversation.

“I know you’re not,” Arroyo allegedly replied.

Born in Puerto Rico in 1954, Arroyo migrated to New York with his family at age 5 and moved to Chicago as a teen, according to the biography on his district website. He began his career in public service as an employee with the city’s water department before being appointed to his House seat in 2006 and winning election two years later.

In recent years, Arroyo has fought former Cook County Democratic Party Chairman Joe Berrios for political control on the city’s Northwest Side.

Arroyo backed Milly Santiago in 2015 for alderman of the 31st Ward, Berrios’ original base. She defeated longtime incumbent Ray Suarez, a close ally of Berrios. Santiago also was backed by Cook County Commissioner Luis Arroyo Jr., the representative’s son.

Earlier this year, Felix Cardona Jr., who worked under Berrios at the Cook County assessor’s office, defeated Santiago to become 31st Ward alderman.

The father and son also backed Ald. Gilbert Villegas in his first run in 2015. He beat a Berrios-backed candidate in that 36th Ward race.

When Berrios stepped down as Democratic Party chairman after losing his primary bid for another term as county assessor, the elder Arroyo initially ran for party chairman, pulling out of that contest when it became clear Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, a Berrios’ ally, would win.

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