On Friday, December 1, 2017, it was announced that the former mayor of Markham, Illinois had been charged in a 12-count indictment for receiving bribes in exchange for steering city work to vendors. David Webb Jr. served as the mayor of Markham from 2001 until earlier this year. The indictment accuses Webb of seeking out and accepting bribes from vendors in the construction and financial services industries.
It is alleged that Webb was provided with at least $300,000 in bribes in the form of campaign contributions, cash payments, purported donations to city programs, and checks made payable to shell companies operated by Webb and relatives. The indictment suggests that Webb used his influence as mayor to help vendors maintain city business and obtain new contracts.
Markham allegedly helped the vendors acquire business renovating a Markham park and the construction of a multi-million dollar senior living complex, which would later be named in Webb’s honor. The indictment was returned in a Chicago federal court on Thursday. 69-year-old Webb has been charged with one count of willfully filing a false tax return and one count of honest services wire fraud.
An owner and an executive of two companies who are accused to paying bribes to Webb have also been charged. At this point in time, the defendants are innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Additional details can be found here.