Oct 3, 2008 4:21 pm US/Central
Suburban Mayor Allegedly Forged Liquor Licenses
ISLAND LAKE, Ill. (STNG) ―
The mayor of north suburban Island Lake turned himself in to police Friday afternoon after being charged with manipulating liquor licenses to benefit friends.
Mayor Tom Hyde was charged with one count of official misconduct and two counts of forgery for allegedly using Wite-Out to change the name listed on a liquor license for a local establishment, Lake County Asst. State's Attorney Steve Scheller said.
Hyde turned himself in to the Lake County Sheriff's Dept. on Friday afternoon and was released on a $50,000 personal recognizance bond. If convicted of the Class 3 felony charges, Hyde could faceup to five years in prison, Scheller said.
The state's attorney's office spearheaded the investigation, which found that Hyde was friends with the individual whose name he illegally swapped on the liquor license, Scheller said.
Hyde is due back in court for a preliminary hearing Oct. 27, Scheller said.
He is the second consecutive Island Lake mayor to face misconduct charges. In 2007, former mayor Charles Amrich was indicted for alleging having all village fuel purchases made through a gas station he owned.
Amrich, who was mayor for 20 years, never disclosed that he owned the gas station and never allowed competitive bidding for fuel and vehicle servicing in the village, the indictment alleged.
Amrich was indicted on five counts of official misconduct in August 2007 and pleaded not guilty. The case is scheduled for a pretrial hearing on Oct. 27 and is scheduled to go to trial on Jan. 5, 2009.
(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2008. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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