Dolton Deputy Police Chief Lewis Lacey indicted for bankruptcy fraud
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Dolton Deputy Police Chief Lewis Lacey was indicted Monday on federal charges accusing him of lying about his income in an attempt to avoid paying a settlement in a lawsuit.
Lacey, 61, has been charged with five counts of bankruptcy fraud, two counts of making false statements in a bankruptcy case, and two counts of perjury.
Federal prosecutors said Lacey has filed several personal bankruptcy petitions since the 1980s, including petitions in 2019 and 2020, after agreeing to a $55,000 settlement agreement in 2017 in a lawsuit filed against him in state court.
Those bankruptcy petitions automatically stayed enforcement of the settlement agreement, for which he still owed $43,000 at the time.
The petitions in 2019 and 2020 were the most recent. Bankruptcy records obtained by the CBS News Chicago Investigators show nine bankruptcies in Lacey's name dating back to 1984.
Prosecutors said Lacey repeatedly lied about his monthly income in the bankruptcy cases, and concealed multiple bank accounts that he controlled.
According to the indictment, Lacey claimed his monthly income was about $5,000, when in reality it was substantially more.
He's also accused of lying about being separated from his wife, and that she did not live with him or contribute to his monthly income.
Lacey was placed on administrative leave last week, although Dolton village officials did not reveal a reason for the move.
On Thursday, former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot revealed an investigation into Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard's use of village funds found the village is more than $3.5 million in debt.
As part of that report, Lightfoot said money spent on employee overtime kept jumping year after year, including overtime paid to Lacey.
On top of his salary, Lacey was paid $39,000 in overtime in fiscal year 2022, $67,000 in FY2023, $96,000 in FY2024, and $12,000 since the new fiscal year began May 1.
Two other officers racked up overtime to the point of nearly doubling their salaries.
One officer made $108,000 in overtime alone in Fiscal Year 2023, and $114,000 in Fiscal Year 2024—up against a regular pay of $72,000 in FY2023 and $87,000 in FY2024. The other officer racked up $87,000 in overtime in FY2023 and $102,000 in FY2024, against regular pay of $55,000 in FY2023 and $73,000 in FY2024.
Editor's note: this article has been updated to correct that Lacey is on administrative leave, and was not fired.