The Chicago Syndicate
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Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Former Country Club Hills Police Chief, Regina Evans, Charged with Hiding Business Income and $500,000 from State Grant in False Tax Returns

Regina Evans and her husband, Ronald Evans, the former police chief and the former inspector general, respectively, of suburban Country Club Hills, were each charged today with three counts of filing false federal income tax returns for allegedly failing to report all of their income during calendar years 2007-09. They were charged in a felony information filed today in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

Regina Evans’ attorney has authorized the government to disclose that she will be pleading guilty to the tax charges after the government files a request to transfer the case against her to the Central District of Illinois in Springfield for disposition. Regina Evans, 50, who was Country Club Hills police chief from 2009 to 2011, and Ronald Evans, 46, are scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Springfield on June 18.

The defendants were charged with failing to report all of their income in 2009, when they allegedly converted to personal income more than $500,000 of a $1.25 million state grant. They also allegedly failed to report all of their income in 2007, 2008, and 2009 from Prime Time Limousine, a Chicago transportation and security services company that they jointly owned and operated.

According to the charging document, Regina Evans founded and ran an organization called We Are Our Brother’s Keeper that, in 2009, received a $1.25 million employment opportunities grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to provide pre-apprenticeship educational and vocational training for people employed in building trades, such as bricklayers and electricians. The couple allegedly used more than $500,000 for non-grant-related personal purposes, making that money personal income.

On their federal income tax return for 2009, the couple stated that Prime Time’s gross receipts were approximately $150,000, knowing that its gross receipts totaled more than $201,297. They also allegedly stated that they did not have any other income, knowing that they had converted at least $500,000 in grant money.

In 2007, the defendants allegedly filed a false tax return by reporting Prime Time’s gross receipts were approximately $205,290, when the business actually had gross receipts totaling more than $360,649, and they allegedly filed a false 2008 tax return stating Prime Time’s gross receipts were approximately $150,630, when it actually had gross receipts of more than $291,414.

The charges were announced today by Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and James C. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. The Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation participated in the investigation.

Filing a false federal income tax return carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. In addition, a defendant convicted of tax offenses faces mandatory costs of prosecution and remains civilly liable to the government for any and all back taxes, as well as a potential civil fraud penalty of up to 75 percent of the underpayment plus interest. If convicted, the court must determine a reasonable sentence to be imposed under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel Hammerman.

The public is reminded that an information contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Troubled Teen Takes School Hostage at Gunpoint in Michael Hassan's "Crash and Burn"

Crash and Burn is a powerful, emotional knockout by author Michael Hassan about the complicated relationship between a profoundly-troubled teenager who takes his school hostage at gunpoint and the profoundly untroubled student who stops him in a novel that Daniel Kraus of Booklist has called "Sprawling, messy, vulgar, sexy, irreverent, violent, bighearted, harrowing" and "quite simply, a great American novel."

On April 21, 2008, Steven "Crash" Crashinsky saved over a thousand people when he stopped his classmate David Burnett from taking their high school hostage armed with assault weapons and high powered explosives. You likely already know what came after for Crash: the nationwide notoriety, the college recruitment, and, of course, the book deal. What you might not know is what came before: a story of two teens whose lives have been inextricably linked since grade school, who were destined, some say, to meet that day in the teachers' lounge of Meadows High. And what you definitely don't know are the words that Burn whispered to Crash right as the siege was ending, a secret that Crash has never revealed.

Until now.

Michael Hassan's shattering novel is a tale of first love and first hate, the story of two high school seniors and the morning that changed their lives forever. It's a portrait of the modern American teenage male, in all his brash, disillusioned, oversexed, schizophrenic, drunk, nihilistic, hopeful, ADD-diagnosed glory. According to Liz Kossnar of Bookreporter.com, "Dealing with the expectations of heroism, ADD, broken families and just getting by during adolescence, this story is not only timely but a necessary read."

And in her review, Karen Coats called Crash and Burn "a must-read for teens and adults alike who want to understand the lack of empathy that permeates contemporary culture." A powerful summer read for teens and adults alike. Find out why teenagers across the country are hiding it from their parents.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Vienna Pub Names Panini Sammiches After Mafia Bosses and Victims of Mobster Slayings #PoorTaste

Italy has complained to Austrian authorities about a Vienna pub selling Panini named after Mafia bosses as well as other sandwiches that make light of Italians slain by Sicilian mobsters.

The foreign ministry said on Saturday that Italy's charge d'affaires in Vienna 'intervened to sensitise' local authorities, including the city of Vienna and the finance ministry.

Italy said news of the menu with its 'poor taste' upset Italians in Vienna and public opinion in Italy.

Naming a sandwich for Giovanni Falcone, a prosecutor killed by a Mafia bombing in 1992 and saying on the menu Falcone was 'grilled' like a wurstel highly offended his memory and is 'unacceptable,' the ministry said.

Was There Another Bomber at Oklahoma City?

On June 13th, Journalist Gerald Posner discusses his new book, The Third Man: Was there another bomber at Oklahoma City?, and his writing career. Also, Margaret McClain, Special Correspondent, reports on the Bulger trial.

Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.

Wednesday, June 05, 2013

New Book Chronicles the Fascinating Story of Gangsters of Boston

This coming June 6, Boston will experience, no doubt, what will be organized crime's “Trial of the Century” when the infamous Whitey Bulger stands trial for murder. But before Whitey Bulger, Boston had such intriguing gangsters as Adam Worth, Daddy Black and Tony Pino.

Now, with the timely publication of Gangsters of Boston, we have the first comprehensive account of three centuries of thug life in the city where America began. Through court records, interviews, newly uncovered police documents and other information sources, Gangsters of Boston tells the incredible story of the city’s underworld. In chilling new detail, veteran Boston journalist George Hassett reveals the legendary crime stories of Boston – from Prohibition to the Mafia to the Irish Gang War and to the infamous Whitey Bulger.

The forgotten chapters of Boston gang history are also covered – from the role of street gangs in the American Revolution to Chinatown’s infamous Tong Wars to the murder of numbers king Daddy Black. It’s all here, every neighbourhood, every era and every gangster. This is a brutal Boston of warring gangs, hit men and paranoid mob bosses. Dive bars, fugitive hideouts and mob dens populate this world and Gangsters of Boston is a first class tour.

With more than fifty crisply told tales of thieves, kingpins, vicious street gangs and corrupt cops, be prepared to see the Athens of America in a new light. Boston gangsters featured include Detroit Red (Malcolm X), The Winter Hill Gang, Joe Kennedy, King Solomon, Gennaro Angiulo, Larry Zanino, The Flemmi Brothers, Campbell Brothers, Darryl Whiting AKA God, Franklin Hill Giants, Tony Johnson, Corbet Street Crew, and, of course, Whitey Bulger.

Boston, Massachusetts-based George Hassett has worked as a newspaper reporter and editor in the Boston area for publications such as The Boston Phoenix, Somerville News and Cambridge Chronicle. His crime reporting has also appeared in national magazines such as FEDS and ASIS and he has been interviewed as an expert on Boston organized crime for television and radio specials.


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