(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A federal judge has sentenced former Teamsters boss John Coli Sr. to 19 months in prison in an extortion scheme.
Prosecutors said Coli collected $325,000 dollars over two years after threatening to call a strike at Cinespace Chicago.
Despite referring to whistleblowers as rats in a woodpile, the powerful Coli worked with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to help convict Illinois Sen. Tom Cullerton of embezzlement this year.
We know Coli’s comments because the Cinespace executive he said them to was wearing a wire.
Coli’s cooperation was seen as particularly significant given his ties to former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, former Chicago Mayors Richard M. Daley and Rahm Emanuel, and ex-Govs. Pat Quinn and Bruce Rauner.
Plenty of public corruption charges have followed in the years since, including Madigan’s indictment on racketeering charges. But Coli is only known to have had a hand in the Cullerton scheme.
The Coli case is still emblematic of the methodical, yearslong process often required to build public corruption cases in federal court, though.
The 63-year-old apologized in court and said what he did was wrong. He had asked for probation and home confinement.
(The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.)
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