McCormick Place supervisor indicted for taking kickbacks for phony snowplow services
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A McCormick Place supervisor and a snowplow contractor were arrested on Wednesday, accused of scheming to overcharge the convention center for snow removal work in exchange for kickbacks.
According to an indictment unsealed in federal court, McCormick Place operations manager Dominick Gironda and an associate, James Sansone, both have been charged with three counts of mail fraud.
Federal prosecutors said the pair schemed to approve inflated invoices for snow removal services that were not actually performed at McCormick Place, including payments to people who had not worked on specific snow removal projects and equipment that was not actually used.
After Gironda approved payment of the falsified invoices for two snow removal companies – one of which was owned by a relative of Sansone's – Sansone would arrange for cash kickbacks for himself, Gironda, and another relative of Sansone's.
Federal prosecutors said the scheme netted Gironda and Sansone approximately $26,700 between 2022 and 2024.
The indictment lists three payments sent to a Tinley Park post office box for one of the companies involved in the scheme: a $26,400 check in February 2023, a $22,040 check in March 2023, and a $41,730 check in February 2024. The charges do not specify how much of those specific payments was legitimate and how much was fraudulent, or how much money Gironda and Sansone made in kickbacks from those specific payments.
If convicted, Gironda and Sansone both face up to 20 years in prison for each count of mail fraud. Both were set to make their first court appearances on Wednesday afternoon before U.S. District Judge Sheila Finnegan.
