Illinois state Sen. Thomas Cullerton pleaded not guilty Friday in federal court to embezzlement charges alleging he pocketed almost $275,000 in salary and benefits from the Teamsters union despite doing little or no work.
Dressed in a dark gray suit and purple tie, Cullerton, 49, a Democrat from Villa Park, answered with a firm “Yes, your honor” when asked by U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Cox whether he understood the proceedings.
During the brief hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu said that each of the indictment’s 41 counts — which he repeatedly referred to as “the sandwich” — carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Cullerton, who was released without having to post any money on a $10,000 bond, is scheduled to return to the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on Aug. 29.
He left the courthouse shortly after noon after being booked by the U.S. marshals office, saying nothing to reporters as he ducked into a gray sedan on South Dearborn Street.
An indictment unsealed earlier this month charged Cullerton with 39 counts of embezzlement and one count each of conspiracy and making false statements.
The charges came three days after former longtime Teamsters boss John Coli Sr. pleaded guilty to extortion charges and agreed to cooperate with federal authorities.
According to the indictment, Coli conspired with Cullerton in 2013 to give the newly elected senator a do-nothing job with the Teamsters. Over the next three years, the two ignored complaints from supervisors when Cullerton failed to even show up for work, according to the charges.
A statement released by a Cullerton spokeswoman Friday said the arraignment marked “another step in seeking justice” and that Cullerton “will continue to fight these untrue allegations in court until his name is cleared.”
Cullerton, a distant cousin of Senate President John Cullerton, previously served as village president of Villa Park and was first elected to the state Senate in 2012.
Last week he was stripped of his chairmanship of the Senate Labor Committee and reassigned to head the Veterans Affairs Committee. Since he remains a committee chairman, he will continue earning a $10,500 stipend on top of his legislative salary of nearly $69,500. Cullerton also remains a member of the Labor Committee.
According to the indictment, Cullerton had once been a member of Teamsters Local 734 before assuming his state Senate seat in January 2013. That March, Coli added Cullerton to the payroll as an “organizer” for the union, according to the charges.
Over the next three years, Cullerton did little or no work as an organizer. In fact, when union supervisors asked that he perform his job duties, Cullerton “routinely ignored their requests,” the indictment said.
Coli, in turn, “ignored and failed to act upon repeated complaints” by a supervisor that Cullerton didn’t even show up for work, the charges allege.
In all, Cullerton was accused of fraudulently obtaining $188,320 in salary, bonuses and cellphone and vehicle allowances from the Teamsters between 2013 and 2016, as well as $64,068 in health and pension contributions.
He used those proceeds to pay personal expenses such as his mortgage, utilities and groceries, according to the charges.
He also fraudulently received $21,678 in reimbursed medical claims, bringing the combined loss for the Teamsters to $274,066, authorities allege.
Coli pleaded guilty last month to one count each of receiving illegal payments and filing a false income tax return, admitting he extorted a combined $325,000 from Individual 1 — previously identified by the Tribune as Alex Pissios, president of Cinespace Chicago Film Studios on the West Side.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
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