(The Center Square) – A federal judge sentenced a former Illinois state senator to a year and a day in prison Tuesday after the lawmaker pleaded guilty to fraudulently taking salary and benefits from a labor union.
Former state Sen. Thomas Cullerton, 52, of Villa Park, pleaded guilty in March to a federal embezzlement charge.
During a federal court hearing on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman sentenced Cullerton to 366 days in prison, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch Jr. said.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amarjeet Bhachu and Erika Csicsila represented the federal government in the case. They had asked the judge to sentence Cullerton to between 12 and 18 months in prison.
Prosecutors said that within weeks of being sworn in as a state senator, Cullerton was added to the payroll of the Teamsters union as an organizer. As a union organizer, Cullerton was expected to work 40 hours a week to attract new members, support union picket lines and attend union events. During his three years with the union, Cullerton collected $248,828 in payments and benefits.
"Indeed, he was a ghost payroller who invariably did little to nothing over this three-year period," prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo. "The defendant’s immediate supervisors tried to get Cullerton to work, but he was, in the words of one supervisor, ‘never available.’ … So rare was the defendant present for work that the union did not even bother to keep track of his use of vacation time – because he was effectively on a permanent vacation."
Prosecutors said that "week after week, for years on end, the defendant as a ghost payroller made a conscious decision to pocket money that did not rightfully belong to him, thereby illegally depleting the assets of the Teamsters and its associated benefit plans."
Prosecutors said former president of Teamsters Joint Council 25 John Coli Sr., who is cooperating with the government, said Cullerton was hired at the request of an unnamed senator.
"Only when Coli became concerned that the Independent Review Board, an investigative body within the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, would find out Cullerton was a ghost payroller, did he give the order for Cullerton to be fired," prosecutors wrote.
Cullerton’s attorney, Daniel Collins of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, asked the judge for a sentence of three years of probation, community service, and restitution of $248,828. Collins noted that Cullerton was a husband and father.
"Tom has resigned his position as an Illinois State Senator, and now performs shift work at a warehouse to make ends meet and provide restitution to the Teamsters," Collins wrote in a sentencing memo. "His wife also has returned to the workforce, currently working in two different jobs. Between income from their jobs and loans from other family members, Tom already will have contributed approximately $26,000, towards restitution by the time of sentencing, and he looks forward to paying the full balance."
Cullerton’s attorney said he regretted the decisions he made and took responsibility for his actions.
"Tom understands that he deserves much of the public scorn that he has received, but is nonetheless committed to making things right with the Teamsters and working hard for his family and community," Collins wrote. "He will forever bear the stigma, public embarrassment, and financial and other costs associated with this felony conviction."
Prosecutors said Cullerton remained on the payroll until February 2016. In addition to receiving a salary, monthly car and telephone allowances, and bonuses, Teamsters Joint Council 25 funded Cullerton’s participation in Teamsters Local Union 734’s health and pension funds, prosecutors said. They also said Cullerton said that he used the union money to pay personal expenses, such as his mortgage, utilities and groceries.
As part of the plea agreement, Cullerton agreed to a money judgment in the amount of $248,828, which represents the total amount of proceeds traceable to the offense, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.
State Sen. Diane Pappas replaced Cullerton in the state’s upper legislative chamber representing the 23rd District.