Former Mayor of Chicago Suburb Pleads Guilty In Kickback Scheme

Nicholas Blase, 80, former longtime Mayor of Niles, Illinois, pleaded guilty today to federal charges of taking more than $420,000 in kickbacks. The criminal complaint alleged that Blase took a 25% commission for business he steered to the Ralph Weiner & Associates insurance agency. The commissions were paid to S.M.P. Insurance Services, Inc. a shell entity controlled by Blase. In a plea agreement, Blase, who was Mayor of Niles for 47 years, resigned and pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and another count of failing to report income on his 2005 tax return in exchange for the government dropping nine other charges. According to court records, Blase's scheme with Weiner started in 1974 and lasted until 2005. His Sentencing is scheduled for January 29 and Blase could get as much as 20 years in prison, plus fines of $250,000 for the wire fraud and $100,000 for filing a false tax return. In a statement in court, Blase said, "I am here today because I made a mistake. I have tried to do what I thought was right. I want to take this opportunity to apologize to those I let down -- my family, my friends, and most of all, the people of Niles. We've been through a lot together. I was wrong and for that I am very sorry."

Read the story here and here. More background on the story here.

See the DOJ announcement of indictment here.