7 More Indicted in Court Bribery Probe in Chicago

CHICAGO —  A judge, a former judge and five others, including two law enforcement officers, were named in federal grand jury indictments Wednesday in the Justice Department’s long-running, wide-ranging investigation of court corruption here.

The new indictments bring the number charged in the five-year investigation called Operation Greylord to 87, including 49 lawyers and 15 judges or former judges--equivalent to 5% of all judges in Cook County.

And, both FBI and Justice Department officials said the investigation, already the biggest probe of judicial corruption in U.S. history, is still relatively young.

“If this were a baseball game, we’d be in the fourth inning,” the FBI’s Bob Long said.

‘Far From Concluded’

“Rest assured this investigation is far from concluded,” said Anton R. Valukas, U.S. attorney for northern Illinois. “There will be a special effort . . . to deal with this insidious problem, which is corruption in the courts of Cook County.”

One of the jurists charged Wednesday is no newcomer to controversy. Judge John J. McDonnell, 52, who has been on the bench since 1971, is charged with extortion, racketeering, obstruction of justice and tax evasion for not paying taxes on alleged bribes that the grand jury said ranged between $100 and $500 “to fix cases.” Valukas said drunk driving, drug and concealed weapons cases were among those McDonnell allegedly took money to fix.

McDonnell was suspended for four months by the Illinois court’s commission after a couple accused him of terrorizing them with a gun. McDonnell contended that the weapon was really just a big cigar. The court’s commission said that was “fiction.” In 1980, he was arrested for drunk driving but acquitted when a fellow judge agreed that it was a case of the flu that caused McDonnell to slur his speech, attempt to flee police and curse the arresting state trooper.

Faces 74-Year Term

If convicted, McDonnell, a former assistant prosecutor, faces up to 74 years in prison and fines totaling $255,000.

The former judge, Francis J. Maher Sr., 73, is accused of taking cash bribes to fix cases between 1978 and 1984. He is charged with racketeering and racketeering conspiracy.

A Cook County deputy sheriff was indicted for allegedly extorting $1,300 from an undercover FBI agent, and a Chicago police officer was accused of lying to the grand jury.

Also indicted were a court employee and two lawyers. Forty of the nearly 50 attorneys charged already have been convicted.

Of the 15 indicted judges, two are awaiting trial, one was acquitted and 12 have been convicted. A 16th judge committed suicide after learning he was a target of the Greylord investigation.