Jul 25, 2007 2:31 pm US/Central
Former Melrose Park Police Chief Denies Extortion
Vito Scavo, 6 Co-Defendants Plead Not Guilty To Running Private Security Firm, Shakedown Scheme
by Mike Parker
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
The former police chief in Melrose Park pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that the chief used his officers to run his private security company
Vito Scavo was the chief of police in Melrose Park from 1995 until 2006. He and six current and former Melrose Park police officers pleaded not guilty Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Joan B. Gottschall.
Scavo is accused of using the officers in his department to help run his private security company, and also of threatening local businesses such as Navistar and the Cinemark Theater to force them to use his private security.
Scavo is facing federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, extortion, obstruction of justice, mail and wire fraud and tax fraud.
He is also accused of individual and corporate tax fraud, and improperly compensating police employees who performed personal chores for him with compensatory time off.
Among the six other men indicted in connection with the scheme are the current Deputy Chief Gary Montino and a recently promoted police commander.
In a statement issued last week, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald says the defendants not only ran the scheme and extorted local businesses, they also told victims and witnesses to lie to investigators.
As part of the alleged conspiracy, Scavo, along with Guy Ric Cervone, former police lieutenant recently promoted to commander, and German Cepeda, former police department janitor and current code enforcement inspector for the village, allegedly obstructed a federal grand jury investigation and tampered with potential witnesses, federal authorities said.
Charged in the case are:
-- Scavo, 59: 10 counts of mail or wire fraud, nine counts of filing false individual or corporate federal income tax returns, and one count each of racketeering conspiracy, extortion and obstruction of justice;
-- Montino, 51: one count of racketeering conspiracy and four counts of mail fraud;
-- Caliendo, 64: one count of racketeering conspiracy and seven counts of mail or wire fraud;
-- James Caputo, 63, former deputy police chief who resigned in 2004: four counts of mail or wire fraud;
-- Cervone, 56: two counts of mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice;
-- Michael Wynn, 53, a part-time police officer: three counts of mail fraud; and
-- Cepeda, 40: one count of extortion.
All of the defendants were released Thursday on $15,000 signature bonds. Gottschall set a preliminary trial date for Jan. 28, 2008.
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