Former Ald. Arenda Troutman pleads guilty to bribe scheme
Former Ald. Arenda Troutman pleaded guilty Wednesday at the Dirksen Federal Building, reversing her previous not guilty plea to a 13-count indictment charging her with using her aldermanic position to hatch deals with local real estate developers.
Troutman will likely receive a prison sentence of 4 to 5 years.
Last January, Troutman loudly defended herself at a news conference following her arrest. “I have been an upstanding alderman for 17 years,” she said, her voice rising with emotion. “I have fought on behalf of the people, not just of the 20th Ward, but on behalf of all of the people in the City of Chicago,” she said.
In stark contrast to the bright, multi-colored dress draped over her statuesque frame, Troutman’s demeanor was subdued at Wednesday’s hearing. Her lawyer, Sam Adam Jr., placed a hand on her back as U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo called the court to order.
When the former alderman entered her guilty plea, her tones were so hushed that the judge asked her to repeat herself.
The indictment charged Troutman with 13 counts of mail fraud, bribery, extortion, tax fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. Tuesday, she pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of tax evasion. The other 11 counts will dismissed at sentencing, according to Randall Samborn, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
By pleading guilty, Troutman admitted to participating in and helping to devise a scheme by which she traded her aldermanic clout for contributions to her political organizations and to herself. According to the plea agreement, the scheme lasted from 2002 until January 2007.
In an interview after the proceedings, Adam said Troutman pleaded guilty “to get this behind her, to accept responsibility and to make sure that her children have a future with her.”
Troutman also admitted to instructing real estate developers to funnel payments to the 20th Ward Women’s Auxiliary, an organization with which she was involved, in order to hide the fact that money was changing hands. According to the plea, the charitable organization never went through the necessary steps to establish itself as a not-for-profit.
Troutman also admitted to failing to include $10,000 she received from a real estate developer on her federal income tax return, and to lying about her income.
Troutman’s sentencing is scheduled for December 3, at which time she faces a total maximum sentence of 23 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $350,000. However, given factors such as her lack of previous convictions, this sentence could be reduced to 45 to 57 months’ imprisonment in addition to a possible supervised release, restitution and fine.
Troutman was arrested at her home in a January 2007 sting operation on federal bribery charges for allegedly taking part in a shady real estate deal. She allegedly took a $5,000 bribe and planned to accept a $10,000 bribe in exchange for using her office to hasten the development of residential and commercial property around 5730 S. Halsted St. She was also promised space in the development and a $5,000 political contribution, according to the federal complaint.
The FBI reportedly caught Troutman on tape talking to the real estate developer—who was involved in the sting—over a wire worn by an unnamed middleman. The middleman began cooperating with authorities after being investigated in a mortgage fraud scheme.
Troutman was appointed to the Chicago City Council in 1991, and was re-elected three times to the 20th Ward aldermanic seat. Following her arrest and indictment, she lost her bid for re-election to former police sergeant Willie B. Cochran.