GARY SOLOMON, 48, of Wilmette, Illinois, admitted in federal court today that he orchestrated a bribery scheme to funnel kickbacks to former Chicago Public Schools CEO BARBARA BYRD-BENNETT in exchange for a $2.09 million no-bid contract. The deal, a fraud on taxpayers and a betrayal of public trust, was engineered while Byrd-Bennett still wielded power over CPS training programs and financial decisions.
Solomon, owner of THE SUPES ACADEMY LLC and SYNESI ASSOCIATES LLC, signed a plea agreement confirming he promised Byrd-Bennett a consultant role with his companies upon her departure from CPS — a role designed solely to deliver illicit payments. Internal financial records show a designated line item to reserve kickback funds, which were to be paid as a one-time signing bonus on her first day back. In a brazen email, Solomon told Byrd-Bennett, “If you only join for the day, you will be the highest paid person on the planet for that day. Regardless, it will be paid out on day one.”
The scheme wasn’t limited to cash. Solomon also provided Byrd-Bennett with luxury meals, tickets to sporting events, and other personal benefits — all while steering taxpayer-funded contracts to his firms. The contract at the center of the fraud was awarded without competition, bypassing standard procurement rules, and handed directly to Solomon’s companies under Byrd-Bennett’s influence.
Solomon pleaded guilty to one count of honest services wire fraud, a charge carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. His companies, Wilmette-based SUPES and Evanston-based Synesi, also pleaded guilty to the same charge. Each faces a maximum fine of $250,000 or double the gross gain or loss — whichever is greater — with government estimates placing the advisory fine between $3.2 million and $6.4 million.
As part of the plea deal, Solomon, SUPES, and Synesi will jointly pay $254,000 in restitution to CPS, minus any funds already returned before sentencing. A hearing for all three defendants is set for March 24, 2017, before U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang. All five individuals and entities charged in the case have now been convicted.
Byrd-Bennett, 67, of Solon, Ohio, pleaded guilty last year to honest services wire fraud. THOMAS VRANAS, 35, of Glenview, a co-owner of the companies, pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to commit federal program bribery and faces up to five years in prison. Sentencing dates for Byrd-Bennett and Vranas remain pending. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan Cunniff Church and Lindsay Jenkins, with support from the FBI and CPS Inspector General’s office.
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Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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