Former Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson files motion for new trial, accusing prosecutors of 'highly improper' arguments
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Convicted former Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson is asking a federal judge to grant him a new trial, accusing prosecutors of making "highly improper and prejudicial" comments in their closing arguments.
Thompson's bid for a new trial is a routine request made after criminal convictions, and such motions are rarely granted, but are typically used as the basis for filing a formal appeal to a higher court.
The 27-page motion filed by Thompson's defense attorney, Chris Gair, was filed little over a month after a federal jury convicted Thompson of of five counts of filing a false income tax return, and two counts of false statements to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp regarding $219,000 in loans and other payments he received from Washington Federal Bank for Savings. Thompson resigned from office two days after his conviction, as he was no longer eligible to serve as alderman.
Federal prosecutors said Thompson borrowed $219,000 from the now-defunct Washington Federal Bank in Bridgeport. They allege Thompson only made one payment and paid no interest, even though he reported interest payments on his income taxes. The feds said Thompson then lied to the FDIC about how much he borrowed.
The 52-year-old was charged with filing false tax returns and making false statements to federal employees, specifically over how much he borrowed and owed to the bank. The feds claim he did that in order to avoid paying back more than $100,000 he owed, thinking he wouldn't get caught because the bank's president killed himself days before the bank failed.
Daley Thompson Court Docs by Todd Feurer on Scribd
In their bid for a new trial, Thompson's attorneys asked U.S. District Judge Franklin Valderrama to either overturn the jury's verdict and acquit him of all charges, or grant him a new trial, arguing prosecutors failed to prove their case against him.
The motion claims prosecutors mischaracterized the evidence in the case during their closing arguments, in an effort to shift the burden of proof to Thompson's defense team.
"Both the government's closing argument and rebuttal argument were highly improper and prejudicial," the motion states.
Specifically, the motion claimed prosecutors argued Thompson had hatched a plan to avoid paying taxes he owed in connection to the loan, when "in fact, there was no evidence whatsoever of any 'plan' or 'scheme' or that Mr. Thompson was 'hoping and praying' not to get caught."
"There not only was no evidence of any such plan, but even worse, the government's argument directly conflicted with the evidence," the motion states. "Ignoring the actual evidence, the government littered its argument with innuendos about a supposed 'plan' that simply had no evidentiary or factual basis."
Thompson, who is former Mayor Richard M. Daley's nephew and Richard J. Daley's grandson, was the first member of the Daley family to ever be charged with a federal crime, and is now the first Daley to be convicted. He was also the first Chicago alderman to face federal trial in decades. Although dozens of aldermen have faced federal charges since the 1970s, most who have done so in recent years have ended up agreeing to plea deals.
Thompson's sentencing has been set for July 6. Meantime, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has until April 15 to appoint someone to fill the vacant 11th Ward seat on the City Council. A total of 27 people have applied to fill the seat, and Lightfoot's office has posted each applicant's name and resume on the city's website as a committee reviews the applications before presenting the mayor with a list of finalists.