Alex Nitchoff, Bribery, Illinois 2024

CHICAGO — In a shocking move, Alex Nitchoff, 57, of Lemont, Ill., has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for conspiring to bribe an employee of the Cook County Assessor’s Office in return for favorable property assessments.

Nitchoff pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of conspiring to corruptly give something of value to influence and reward a public official, and one count of using an interstate facility to facilitate bribery. U.S. District Judge John F. Kness imposed the sentence on Wednesday during a hearing in federal court in Chicago.

The sentence was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. Valuable assistance was provided by IRS Criminal Investigation and the City of Chicago Inspector General’s Office.

The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Peabody. Nitchoff admitted in a plea agreement that from 2016 to 2019 he conspired with others to corruptly provide home improvement services and materials to Cook County Assessor’s Office employee LAVDIM MEMISOVSKI, who assessed property values and reviewed property tax appeals for Cook County commercial properties.

Nitchoff and others provided free home improvement services and materials at Memisovski’s personal residence, including a concrete pad, decking materials, gas lines, sprinkler system heads, tiles, and other items, the plea agreement states.

In return for the benefits, Memisovski took official action to reduce the property taxes owed for Nitchoff’s properties by at least $550,000, Nitchoff’s plea agreement states. Memisovski, of Burbank, Ill., pleaded guilty last year to a conspiracy charge and is awaiting sentencing.

Alex Nitchoff, a suburban Chicago construction company owner, has been sentenced to five years in prison for bribery charges in Illinois. The construction company owner was found guilty of conspiring to bribe an employee of the Cook County Assessor’s Office in return for favorable property assessments. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge John F. Kness during a hearing in federal court in Chicago on Wednesday.

The bribery scheme, which lasted from 2016 to 2019, involved Nitchoff providing home improvement services and materials to Cook County Assessor’s Office employee LAVDIM MEMISOVSKI in exchange for favorable property assessments. The benefits included a concrete pad, decking materials, gas lines, sprinkler system heads, tiles, and other items, totaling at least $550,000 in reduced property taxes for Nitchoff’s properties.