Illinois State Sen. Thomas E. Cullerton has been indicted on charges he allegedly got a salary and benefits from the Teamsters while doing little to no work, federal authorities said Friday.
Cullerton was hired as a supposed union organizer for the Teamsters in March 2013.
From then until February 2016, Cullerton got $188,320 in salary, bonuses, and cellphone and vehicle allowances, as well as $64,068 in health and pension contributions, according to the indictment, while routinely ignoring his job duties.
He even got a bonus every December for three years, the indictment alleges.
Cullerton, 49, of Villa Park and a Democrat who represents northeastern DuPage County, is charged with one count of conspiracy to embezzle from a labor union and an employee benefit plans as well as 39 counts of embezzlement from a labor union. He also faces one count of making false statements in a health care matter.
The indictment comes days after Teamster boss John T. Coli pleaded guilty in federal court to shaking down a Chicago film studio for $325,000 in cash payments. Coli agreed to cooperate with all federal investigations as part of his plea deal with prosecutors.
The feds allege Cullerton conspired with Coli to set up the do-nothing job. When one of Cullerton’s supervisors complained that Cullerton didn’t show up to work, Coli ignored it, the feds allege.
It had been no secret that Cullerton’s work with the union was a matter of federal interest. The Sun-Times previously reported that the grand jury that indicted Coli issued a subpoena in February for the personnel file and other records of Cullerton, who is a cousin of Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago. Thomas Cullerton is the chairman of the Senate Labor committee and the subcommittee on utility rate regulation.
