Former Crestwood Mayor Louis Presta, 71, Pleads Guilty to Bribery

Chicago, IL — Louis Presta, 71, of Crestwood, Illinois, has pleaded guilty to a double-barreled federal crime spree involving cash bribes and cooked tax returns. The former mayor admitted to taking a $5,000 cash payoff in exchange for rigging red-light camera enforcement — a scheme designed to boost profits for a camera company with a vested interest in ticket volume.

Presta copped to one count of using a facility in interstate commerce in aid of bribery and official misconduct, a crime punishable by up to five years behind bars. He also confessed to filing a false income tax return for 2015, a felony that carries a maximum three-year sentence. U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin has set sentencing for Feb. 23, 2022.

According to federal prosecutors, Presta struck a deal with an individual financially tied to a red-light camera contractor providing services to Crestwood. As the company sought to expand its operations, Presta promised to keep approval rates for traffic violations artificially high — ensuring a steady stream of tickets and revenue. In return, he demanded and received a $5,000 cash bribe.

The betrayal was captured in a phone call on Feb. 27, 2018, where Presta boasted, “We’re starting to get the numbers again… you got a new sheriff in town.” Days later, on March 7, 2018, he accepted the $5,000 payment. When confronted by federal agents, Presta lied, claiming he never asked for or received the money — a denial that only deepened his fall.

The tax charge stems from Presta’s willful submission of a false 2015 income tax return, omitting the illicit bribe and other unreported income. The IRS Criminal Investigation Division, alongside the FBI, dismantled the scheme through wiretaps, financial forensics, and recorded conversations that painted a damning portrait of a public servant turned profiteer.

The case was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Emmerson Buie, Jr., and IRS CI Special Agent-in-Charge Justin Campbell. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Stetler and James P. Durkin are prosecuting. Presta’s legacy now stands as a cautionary tale of small-town power corrupted by greed.