By Associated Press
Gene Lee
CHICAGO (AP) – A one-time deputy chief of staff to former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley has pleaded guilty in a scheme in which he cashed dozens of checks made out to a charity and pocketed some of the money.
In a news release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says 65-year-old Gene Lee pleaded guilty to theft and filing a false income tax return.
Lee faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on the theft count and three years on the tax count.
The release says Lee admitted that between 2007 and 2010, he stole a portion of donations he solicited for an event in Chicago’s Chinatown called the Summer Fair and covered up the scheme by under-reporting just how much money had been contributed. Prosecutors say Lee misappropriated more than $92,000.
Lee is listed at the Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce as co-chair of the advisory board to the chamber’s special events committee. (end)