The former powerful state politician pleaded guilty Tuesday to bribery and tax charges as he indicated he’s cooperating in a widespread federal political corruption investigation.
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Martin Sandoval leaving U.S. District Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to bribery and tax charges. Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
At the time a powerful state senator, Martin Sandoval said in a 2018 restaurant meeting in Burr Ridge that he was going “balls to the wall for anything you ask me” for a red-light camera company in return for thousands of dollars in bribes but complained others were getting a sweet deal in “consulting fees” from the business.
“So why don’t I get that offer,” Sandoval griped to an investor in the company who was secretly working for the feds.
In all, Sandoval took about $250,000 in bribes from the red-light camera company, identified in court as SafeSpeed, and others, according to a plea agreement he entered into Tuesday in federal court in Chicago.
In a move guaranteed to send shockwaves through political circles from Springfield to Chicago, Sandoval indicated that he will be cooperating with the feds in their ongoing, widespread investigation of political corruption, which includes SafeSpeed, ComEd and other entities.
Sandoval pleaded guilty Tuesday to bribery and a tax charge. The plea marks the first conviction in the massive federal investigation.
Sandoval took bribes to knock down statehouse bills dangerous to the red-light camera industry and help what federal prosecutors officially called “Company A” navigate state regulators. Sandoval, in an apparent slip of the lip, referred in open court to the company as SafeSpeed, which the Sun-Times has previously reported is under investigation. SafeSpeed has denied any wrongdoing.
Sandoval faces a maximum prison sentence of 13 years — 10 for the bribery, three for the tax charge, prosecutors said, but they indicated they will ask a judge for less time — how much isn’t clear — if Sandoval continues cooperating. His plea agreement also anticipates restitution of $72,441 divided between the IRS and the Illinois Department of Revenue.
Sandoval is Illinois’ fourth elected official to face federal charges since January 2019. But they are the first to involve the controversial red-light camera industry, a focus of a series of high-profile raids four months ago. The raids included Sandoval’s home and offices in the state Capitol building.
According to his plea agreement, Sandoval appeared irritated that he was doing the work for SafeSpeed, while others were getting consulting fees — a percentage of every SafeSpeed ticket paid in certain towns.
“It galls me to know, but because we’ve established such a great relationship, um, ‘cause you know I’ll go balls to the wall for anything you ask me . . . It’s hard for me to swallow how [people] make so much off you. And I gotta do the work.”
During that restaurant meeting in 2018, Sandoval got $15,000 in what the feds call “protection money” to advance SafeSpeed’s interests and in total got $70,000 from the man who had an interest in the company but was secretly working for the feds, according to Sandoval’s plea.
Dennis Culloton, a spokesman for SafeSpeed, released a statement Monday on behalf of the company after Sandoval was charged.
“We are saddened and surprised by the allegations that Sen. Sandoval sought out individuals to solicit and receive bribes,” it said. “As we have said from the beginning, we support efforts to root out corruption and applaud the government’s efforts. Allegations of corruption undercut the important traffic safety mission that motivates the red light camera industry to save lives and serve taxpayers. We will continue to serve our client communities consistent with these two values.”
Before his office was raided, Sandoval served as chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. He stepped down from that position in October but chose to remain a member of the panel. He resigned from the Senate effective Jan. 1.
Prosecutors charged Sandoval with one count of bribery, alleging he took money for his “continued support for the operation of red-light cameras in the State of Illinois, including opposing legislation adverse to the interests of the red-light camera industry.”
They also charged him with one count of filing a false income tax return, alleging he filed a 2017 return that reported an income of $125,905 when he “knew that the total income substantially exceeded that amount.”
SafeSpeed CEO Nikki Zollar told the Chicago Sun-Times in October, “We don’t pay people off,” but she said Omar Maani — a SafeSpeed partner, businessman and developer —appeared to be cooperating with the government. Other sources familiar with the probe have said the same, and the feds in Sandoval’s plea agreement note that an individual who had an interest in SafeSpeed began cooperating with the feds in 2018. Prosecutors do not name that cooperating witness.
Sandoval has also been connected to an ongoing investigation involving ComEd and Exelon. The companies have acknowledged they’ve been subpoenaed for records related to Sandoval. The former senator’s daughter has also listed herself online as a senior account manager in government affairs at ComEd.
Also named by the feds in records from the Sandoval raid was Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski, who doubles as mayor of McCook. Tobolski’s McCook office was targeted by federal agents a few days later, and a source told the Sun-Times the searches were connected. Tobolski’s chief of staff in county government, Patrick Doherty, has acknowledged he has had a consulting agreement with SafeSpeed and got the fee deal that so irritated Sandoval.:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19652500/merlin_88565951.jpg)
Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski attends a board meeting of the Cook County Forrest Preserve at the County Building last month. Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times
For lawmakers, this is the second consecutive legislative session to kick off with charges against one of their colleagues. Prosecutors charged then-state Rep. Luis Arroyo with bribery just as lawmakers gathered in October for the start of the fall veto session. On Monday, lawmakers were headed to Springfield for the start of the spring session, which convenes Tuesday. Gov. J.B. Pritzker is set to deliver his State of the State address Wednesday.
Pritzker called Monday for ethics legislation and said the legislature needs to “scare off the people that think that they should hold public office to make a buck for themselves.”
“First of all, this kind of behavior, this kind of activity, is utterly repellent,” Pritzker said at an unrelated event. “The people who are committing these crimes — people who get elected to public office and then serve their own pockets and not the interests of the people that they are supposed to be representing — those people need to get out of public office.”
Also charged in separate cases by the feds are Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th), who faces a racketeering indictment, and state Sen. Thomas Cullerton, who has been accused of embezzling from the Teamsters. Arroyo was charged in October with trying to bribe a state senator who wound up being an informant for the feds.
Though the charges against Arroyo did not name the senator, a source told the Sun-Times the senator is Terry Link, D-Vernon Hills. Link has denied it.
Arroyo appears on track to plead guilty. He is due in court Feb. 4 for an arraignment. Cullerton is set for trial in July. No trial has been set for Burke.:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19350874/merlin_87412353.jpg)
Ex-State Rep. Luis Arroyo leaves Dirksen Federal Building in October. Santiago Covarrubias/For the Sun-Times
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At the time a powerful state senator, Martin Sandoval said in a 2018 restaurant meeting in Burr Ridge that he was going “balls to the wall for anything you ask me” for a red-light camera company in return for thousands of dollars in bribes but complained others were getting a sweet deal in “consulting fees” from the business.
“So why don’t I get that offer,” Sandoval griped to an investor in the company who was secretly working for the feds.
In all, Sandoval took about $250,000 in bribes from the red-light camera company, identified in court as SafeSpeed, and others, according to a plea agreement he entered into Tuesday in federal court in Chicago.
In a move guaranteed to send shockwaves through political circles from Springfield to Chicago, Sandoval indicated that he will be cooperating with the feds in their ongoing, widespread investigation of political corruption, which includes SafeSpeed, ComEd and other entities.
Sandoval pleaded guilty Tuesday to bribery and a tax charge. The plea marks the first conviction in the massive federal investigation.
Sandoval took bribes to knock down statehouse bills dangerous to the red-light camera industry and help what federal prosecutors officially called “Company A” navigate state regulators. Sandoval, in an apparent slip of the lip, referred in open court to the company as SafeSpeed, which the Sun-Times has previously reported is under investigation. SafeSpeed has denied any wrongdoing.
Sandoval faces a maximum prison sentence of 13 years — 10 for the bribery, three for the tax charge, prosecutors said, but they indicated they will ask a judge for less time — how much isn’t clear — if Sandoval continues cooperating. His plea agreement also anticipates restitution of $72,441 divided between the IRS and the Illinois Department of Revenue.
Sandoval is Illinois’ fourth elected official to face federal charges since January 2019. But they are the first to involve the controversial red-light camera industry, a focus of a series of high-profile raids four months ago. The raids included Sandoval’s home and offices in the state Capitol building.
According to his plea agreement, Sandoval appeared irritated that he was doing the work for SafeSpeed, while others were getting consulting fees — a percentage of every SafeSpeed ticket paid in certain towns.
“It galls me to know, but because we’ve established such a great relationship, um, ‘cause you know I’ll go balls to the wall for anything you ask me . . . It’s hard for me to swallow how [people] make so much off you. And I gotta do the work.”
During that restaurant meeting in 2018, Sandoval got $15,000 in what the feds call “protection money” to advance SafeSpeed’s interests and in total got $70,000 from the man who had an interest in the company but was secretly working for the feds, according to Sandoval’s plea.
Dennis Culloton, a spokesman for SafeSpeed, released a statement Monday on behalf of the company after Sandoval was charged.
“We are saddened and surprised by the allegations that Sen. Sandoval sought out individuals to solicit and receive bribes,” it said. “As we have said from the beginning, we support efforts to root out corruption and applaud the government’s efforts. Allegations of corruption undercut the important traffic safety mission that motivates the red light camera industry to save lives and serve taxpayers. We will continue to serve our client communities consistent with these two values.”
Before his office was raided, Sandoval served as chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. He stepped down from that position in October but chose to remain a member of the panel. He resigned from the Senate effective Jan. 1.
Prosecutors charged Sandoval with one count of bribery, alleging he took money for his “continued support for the operation of red-light cameras in the State of Illinois, including opposing legislation adverse to the interests of the red-light camera industry.”
They also charged him with one count of filing a false income tax return, alleging he filed a 2017 return that reported an income of $125,905 when he “knew that the total income substantially exceeded that amount.”
SafeSpeed CEO Nikki Zollar told the Chicago Sun-Times in October, “We don’t pay people off,” but she said Omar Maani — a SafeSpeed partner, businessman and developer —appeared to be cooperating with the government. Other sources familiar with the probe have said the same, and the feds in Sandoval’s plea agreement note that an individual who had an interest in SafeSpeed began cooperating with the feds in 2018. Prosecutors do not name that cooperating witness.
Sandoval has also been connected to an ongoing investigation involving ComEd and Exelon. The companies have acknowledged they’ve been subpoenaed for records related to Sandoval. The former senator’s daughter has also listed herself online as a senior account manager in government affairs at ComEd.
Also named by the feds in records from the Sandoval raid was Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski, who doubles as mayor of McCook. Tobolski’s McCook office was targeted by federal agents a few days later, and a source told the Sun-Times the searches were connected. Tobolski’s chief of staff in county government, Patrick Doherty, has acknowledged he has had a consulting agreement with SafeSpeed and got the fee deal that so irritated Sandoval.
Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski attends a board meeting of the Cook County Forrest Preserve at the County Building last month. Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-TimesFor lawmakers, this is the second consecutive legislative session to kick off with charges against one of their colleagues. Prosecutors charged then-state Rep. Luis Arroyo with bribery just as lawmakers gathered in October for the start of the fall veto session. On Monday, lawmakers were headed to Springfield for the start of the spring session, which convenes Tuesday. Gov. J.B. Pritzker is set to deliver his State of the State address Wednesday.
Pritzker called Monday for ethics legislation and said the legislature needs to “scare off the people that think that they should hold public office to make a buck for themselves.”
“First of all, this kind of behavior, this kind of activity, is utterly repellent,” Pritzker said at an unrelated event. “The people who are committing these crimes — people who get elected to public office and then serve their own pockets and not the interests of the people that they are supposed to be representing — those people need to get out of public office.”
Also charged in separate cases by the feds are Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th), who faces a racketeering indictment, and state Sen. Thomas Cullerton, who has been accused of embezzling from the Teamsters. Arroyo was charged in October with trying to bribe a state senator who wound up being an informant for the feds.
Though the charges against Arroyo did not name the senator, a source told the Sun-Times the senator is Terry Link, D-Vernon Hills. Link has denied it.
Arroyo appears on track to plead guilty. He is due in court Feb. 4 for an arraignment. Cullerton is set for trial in July. No trial has been set for Burke.
Ex-State Rep. Luis Arroyo leaves Dirksen Federal Building in October. Santiago Covarrubias/For the Sun-TimesIN THIS STREAM
Ex-State Sen. Martin Sandoval’s bribery charge
Ex-Sen. Martin Sandoval said he was going ‘balls to the wall’ for red-light camera company for thousands in bribes: feds
Ex-state Sen. Martin Sandoval charged with bribery, filing false income tax returnVIEW ALL 8 STORIES
NEXT UP IN CRIME
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2 teens charged in West Chicago shooting
Crystal Lake man gets 15 years for sex abuse, soliciting child porn from girls he met on Snapchat
Man killed in Heart of Chicago drive-by: police
DUI charge filed against driver who struck man on sidewalk in Gold Coast
Employee charged with choking special needs student at mental health care facility in Aurora
MOST READ
Baby shot was wounded by parents struggling over gun; one in custody
Lawyers, judges to offer help Saturday to those with suspended driver’s licenses
Police: Cryptic threat found written on wall in home of suspected cigar lounge shooter
Elizabeth Warren backs Kim Foxx, calls prosecutor ‘a champion ... who leads with compassion’
In study of nation’s 75 largest cities, Chicago ranks next to last in fiscal health
Sign up for the newsletterBreaking News
Know about breaking news as it happens. We follow the stories and update you as they develop.
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By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice and European users agree to the data transfer policy.SUBSCRIBE
Can't wait to see how many Sandoval takes down
ReplyDeleteTime to end red light camera scam they cause more accident when people slam on the brakes and speed through yellow so many injuries end the madness!
ReplyDeleteWhat another scumbag RAT. Politicians are just going to continue to commit crimes and bank on the idea of RATTING out someone else to save their own ass. Bunch of RATS.
ReplyDeleteRAT
ReplyDeleteTake your medicine like a man you RAT
ReplyDelete