Report: Cicero's Dominick Gave Questionable Contract To Friend
CICERO, Ill. (CBS) -- New allegations have surfaced about questionable practices by Cicero Town President Larry Dominick.
As WBBM Newsradio's Regine Schlesinger reports, the Chicago Sun-Times says an unlicensed plumber who is a longtime friend and possibly a former business partner of Dominick got nearly $2 million in work from the town without ever submitting a bid or signing a contract.
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At the same time, the paper says the friend, George Hunter, also bought a modest home from Dominick for $100,000 more than Dominick's original purchase price.
After reviewing thousands of records, the Sun-Times says the two men have a history of helping each other out. Hunter employs six of Dominick's relatives, and Hunter's wife, Elvira, serves on the town's health board for $10,480 per year and free health insurance.
Town spokesman Ray Hanania defends the sewer deal, saying Dominick had nothing to do with Hunter getting the work, the Sun-Times reported.
The newspaper says Hunter, whose company was most recently known as Superior Sewer Solution, is also a deadbeat dad.
Dominick has been hit with other controversies in recent months. Last month, the Sun-Times revealed that he had put his wife and at least eight of her relatives on the public payroll.
And in September, the Sun-Times reported that the FBI taped Dominick in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by former Cicero town animal shelter operator Sharon Starzyk.
Starzyk alleged that Dominick sent her smutty text messages and groped her, including one incident in which he "grabbed a breast (and) passed some gas" before getting out of the car at an animal rescue site, the Sun-Times reported.
