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CHICAGO - The names of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and U.S. Congressman Rahm Emanuel (D-5) appeared for the first time in federal documents relating to Chicago’s Hired Truck Program scandal.

Mayor Daley and the Daley family political base’s 11th Ward Democratic organization were recipients of “coerced” campaign contributions, according to the plea agreement of former city Water Department Director of Finance and Administration Gerald Wesolowski. (attached as .pdf document)

Congressman Emanuel, elected in 2002, was the recipient of Water Department employee campaign “volunteers,” presumably in his successful primary campaign against State Rep. Nancy Kaszak (D-Chicago).

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According to the plea agreement, Water Department employees and other city employees were recruited for political work in violation of the Shakman Decree (1969) which forbids the hiring and firing of non-policy making city employees for political reasons. According to the plea agreement, Donald Tomczak, the former First Deputy Commissioner of Mayor Richard Daley’s Water Department, "rewarded certain members of his political organization...with raises, promotions and overtime, in return for their participation in Tomczak directed political activities."

Wesolowski, 46, who was indicted on 15 counts ranging including racketeering, bribery, mail fraud, and obstruction of justice agreed to plead guilty one count of mail fraud and to cooperate in the government’s case.

Wesolowski was one of the bagmen for Tomczak, a co-defendant in the indictment. He is the 6th person to plead guilty in Hired Truck probe to date, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The count to which Wesolowski plead guilty was participation in the affairs of an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity. At least two illegal acts must be proven. The Feds and the defendant agreed upon mail fraud and bribery in violation of state law.

“Companies provide cash, campaign contributions and other things to of value for the benefit of Tomczak, defendant and third parties associated with Tomczak,” according to the plea agreement, “with defendant knowing that such benefits were provided with the intent to influence and reward Tomczak and defendant in the performance of official acts related to the Hired Truck Program.“

The “benefits” included money, gifts and campaign contributions to “political campaigns with which Tomczak and other high-ranking government officials were associated.”

Besides soliciting campaign contributions, however, Tomczak’s assistants mobilized “over 100 individuals”--most department employees--to pass out campaign literature on behalf of political campaigns “determined by City Officials and communicated to Tomczak.”

Once the candidate’s name had come down from higher-ups, Tomczak would conduct a planning meeting with 5-10 employees, who were “political coordinators,” on the taxpayer’s dime.

According to the plea agreement, candidates receiving support via this criminal enterprise were “Jeff Tomczak, mayoral candidate Richard Daley, judicial candidate Amy Bertani, United States congressional candidate Rahm Emanuel and others.” There is also a reference to an unnamed “Candidate A” with reference to fund raising.

According the the plea agreement, Wesolowski “was...aware that Tomczak authorized raises and/or promotions to one or more tradesmen in return for their work to personally benefit Tomczak.”

Truck companies like Cayla and Garfield received regular hired truck work after Wesolowski began receiving cash payments from Michael Harjung, according to the plea agreement. The price is said to have been $75 per truck per week of work, $60,000 in total over a four-year period. This money went to Tomczak, so says the plea agreement.

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Co-defendant John Cannatello, identified as a chief operator of GNA, is also fingered as one who paid bribes to get his trucks city work. Wesolowski admits taking bribe money to Tomczak’s Chicago home for Cannatello.

Wesolowski also admitted receiving “envelopes of cash” from co-defendants Roger McMahon and Flenory Barnes. Also on the list of those giving Wesolowski items of value is co-defendant Joseph Ignoffo and several other unidentified truckers.

Besides the Mayor Daley's 11th Ward organization, the plea agreement specifically mentions the 2002 Will County State’s Attorney’s campaign of Donald Tomczak’s son Jeff as recipients of coerced campaign contributions.