Posted on 09/01/2005 1:34:02 AM PDT by Prince Charles
Schakowsky's spouse pleads guilty to fraud
September 1, 2005
BY NATASHA KORECKI, Federal Courts Reporter
Robert Creamer, husband of a North Shore congresswoman, long-time Democratic political consultant and onetime head of the state's largest public interest group, pleaded guilty Wednesday to running a check-kiting scheme and failing to withhold thousands of dollars in payroll taxes.
With his wife, U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), in the courtroom, Creamer pleaded guilty to one count of federal bank fraud for writing bad checks to a series of banks that amounted to "interest-free loans" while heading Citizen Action of Illinois, he said.
Creamer, 58, also pleaded guilty to failing to withhold about $1,800 in taxes, and admitted he failed to withhold a total of $50,000 from 1997 to 2000 in his own paycheck from his private political consulting business, Issue Dynamics Inc.
Creamer was the only employee of that firm, which he created after he resigned from Citizen Action in 1997. He said he used that money to pay an individual owed by Illinois Public Action, which later became Citizen Action. Prosecutors say that's part of it, but that he also used the money to satisfy personal debts. He has since paid the withholdings.
As part of the plea deal, the government dismissed 28 counts against him. But Creamer admitted to much of the relevant conduct in those counts, which the feds will use at sentencing to argue he deserves up to four years in prison when sentenced Dec. 21. Creamer's attorney, Ted Poulos, said he will argue for a sentence that does not involve prison time -- possibly house arrest.
'Time will tell'
Schakowsky said her husband never intended "to enrich himself," that she loves and stands by him and that she didn't know he was taking part in the fraudulent conduct. And he always intended on repaying the government, she said.
Asked if his guilty plea will affect next year's primary or bring a challenger, Schakowsky said she doesn't expect it will.
"I have nothing but support from my friends and my constituents," she said. "But, time will tell."
Speaking in the federal courthouse lobby with a band of supporters behind him after his plea, Creamer apologized for his conduct and said he took part in the check kiting only to benefit Citizen Action.
"I did so in order to stretch its dollars and allow it to continue its work as a consumer and public interest advocate. None of this benefitted me personally," Creamer said. "I never intended to cause any bank to lose any money -- and no bank ever did lose any money as a result of my conduct."
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Ferguson explained the check kiting differently.
"It allowed him to keep his six-figure salary," Ferguson said. "It allowed him to continue to maintain his position as executive director of the largest public interest organization in the state of Illinois and to maintain his political prominence in the community."
'Those banks were victims'
But Ferguson said the check kiting was on a massive scale and happened on several different occasions, including in 1993, 1996 and 1997. At one point, Cole Taylor Bank alone was in the hole by about $2.3 million. The banks settled and eventually got their money, but Ferguson said "those banks were victims and for a substantial period of time, for substantial amounts of money."
Creamer is the president of the Strategic Consulting Group and his work often takes him to Washington, D.C. At present, his firm is working for a Democratic-allied coalition created to defeat GOP plans to revamp Social Security by creating private accounts.
Creamer is a well-known Chicago political consultant who has done work for Mayor Daley, Gov. Blagojevich and U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.).
Joshua Hoyt, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, supported his friend of 30 years.
"When people put in a lifetime for the people at the bottom of this society, you want to stand behind them in their time of trouble," Hoyt said.
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