Contractor Convicted of Cash Bribes to Mayor

Published on May 22, 2019 by Nick Walsh

A contractor and his Illinois company, Tower Contracting, were convicted for paying off then-mayor David Webb Jr. of Markham with nearly $100,000 in bribes to secure work.

The Chicago Tribune reported that a federal jury convicted Michael Jarigese and his business of 10 counts of “honest services” wire fraud and federal program bribery. Jarigese faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for serious fraud counts and Tower Contracting could face a hefty fine.

Usually in public corruption investigations the contractors are the ones who corroborate with the government and testify against politicians, but in this situation, it was the mayor who cooperated with prosecutors. Webb admitted he took a combined $300,000 from Tower Contracting and other contractors beginning in 2008. Webb had a shell company that he set up using his children’s name called “Kat Remodeling” to funnel in bribes, to make payments seem legitimate.

The federal guidelines call for Webb to be sentenced between 7-9 years in prison but if he testifies truthfully prosecutors say they will recommend 4 ½ years behind bars.