The federal investigation into alleged job selling at the Cook County Circuit Court Clerk’s office – a probe spurred by a BGA/FOX32 report on a curious land deal involving the politician running the agency, Dorothy Brown – resulted in a guilty plea of a Brown employee earlier this month.
From the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago:
“Sivasubramani Rajaram admitted in a plea agreement that in August 2014 he loaned $15,000 to Goat Masters Corp., whose president was the husband of the Cook County Circuit Court Clerk. The following month, Rajaram was hired by the Clerk’s Office as a level four Senior Clerk, according to the plea agreement. Rajaram had previously worked in the Clerk’s Office but had been living in India for several years.”
“On or about Oct. 1, 2015, Rajaram testified before a federal grand jury that was investigating possible criminal violations in connection with the purchasing of jobs and promotions within the Clerk’s Office. During his testimony, Rajaram said he had not spoken to the Circuit Court Clerk after his 2014 hiring. He also testified that he had spoken to another high-ranking employee of the Clerk’s Office only ‘three or four times’ since returning to Chicago from India. Rajaram admitted in the plea agreement that both statements were false.”
“Rajaram, 48, of Glenview, pleaded guilty to one count of making a false declaration before a grand jury. The charge is punishable by up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.”
Click here for a copy of the plea agreement.
Click here and here for copies of related stories on the federal investigation and Brown, who appears to be the ultimate focus of the federal probe but who has said she’s done nothing wrong.
