Illinois CDL Probe Deepens
Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation are now looking into whether those involved in the scam funneled tens of thousands of dollars into the campaign fund of the man who controls the facilities, Secretary of State George Ryan.
Mr. Ryan also is the Republican candidate for governor of Illinois.
The investigators also have expanded their probe to a second licensing facility due to allegations in a civil suit filed in connection with a 1994 car accident that involved a truck driver whose CDL was allegedly obtained illegally.
The five have been indicted for racketeering, extortion and mail fraud. Their trial has been set for Nov. 30, and all have pleaded not guilty.
Investigators believe that the scam involved over $150,000 in bribe money and that tens of thousands of dollars of that ended up going to fund Mr. Ryan’s gubernatorial campaign through the purchase of $100 political fundraising tickets.
Agents are also looking into related reports that licensing facility managers were coerced into selling quotas of the tickets.
Mr. Ryan said there is no pressure within his office to sell tickets. He also said he has no knowledge that the money collected by his campaign is tainted. Investigators have backed up his claims with repeated statements that he is not a target of their investigation.
Another piece of the puzzle is a 1994 accident that is the subject of a lawsuit filed by Janet and Duane Willis.
The Willises were driving on a Milwaukee expressway when their minivan’s gas tank exploded after hitting a steel mud flap bracket that had fallen off the truck of Ricardo Guzman. The accident resulted in the deaths of the Willises’ six children.
The couple filed a civil suit against Mr. Guzman; the owner of the trailer, Hammer Express, Brookfield, Ill.; and the owner of the truck, TransAmerica Leasing.
The suit charges that Mr. Guzman couldn’t speak English, and that he had obtained his commercial license illegally from a facility in McCook, Ill. Joseph A. Power Jr., attorney for the Willises, argues that Mr. Guzman did not heed radio warnings from other motorists that the bracket was falling off because he did not understand them.
Mr. Power also contends that Mr. Ryan’s office attempted to cover up how Mr. Guzman got his license. The attorney gave the court an affidavit from Russell Sonneveld, a former special agent with the secretary of state’s inspector general’s office, who claims officials in the secretary of state’s office told him to drop his investigations into whether Mr. Guzman had obtained his CDL illegally.
hese allegations have prompted the FBI to expand its bribery inquiry to the McCook facility. This is the third time in four years that the facility has been the subject of a corruption investigation.
Glenn Poshard, Mr. Ryan’s Democratic opponent in the gubernatorial race, has made the controversy the central issue of the campaign. He has asked voters whether they can vote for a man who allowed so much corruption to exist in his administration. His campaign airs television ads blaming Mr. Ryan for the Willis tragedy.
Mr. Ryan’s campaign has struck back, blasting Mr. Poshard for making accusations with no factual basis.
“It’s an election year and people are going to grasp whatever they can and use it however they can,” said Wanda Taylor, a spokeswoman for Mr. Ryan.
Mr. Ryan claimed the civil suit is politically motivated and pointed out that Mr. Power has contributed more than $300,000 to the Democrats over the years.
Despite the allegations, most polls show Mr. Ryan continues to hold a sizable lead over his opponent.
