Many government officials are being looked into for their connection with bribery. | Canva
Many government officials are being looked into for their connection with bribery. | Canva
The bribes that former Illinois State Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-District 119), who died last week, were government-supplied and not paid directly by SafeSpeed, the Chicago Tribune confirmed, according to WLDS.
According to WLDS, WBEZ and the Chicago Tribune both confirmed Sandoval took more than $250,000 in bribes. Sandoval also admitted in a plea agreement that he got $20,000 in campaign contributions annually from SafeSpeed beginning in 2016.
SafeSpeed CEO Nikki Zollar told WLDS that it was participating fully in cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), as well as federal courts, during investigations. It also has denied any wrongdoing.When the scandal came to light, SafeSpeed and the company both said the contributions were made legally and they had done nothing wrong.
In the past few months, many corrupt politicians have been brought to light
| File Photo
“We are shocked by the information in today’s plea agreement and the betrayal of public trust both by Sen. Sandoval and a person who had an interest in the company, who was not authorized by the company to engage in any illegal behavior or make any commitments or contributions on behalf of the company or its executives," a SafeSpeed spokesperson told WBEZ earlier this year, WLDS reports.
In his please agreement last year, Sandoval noted that he was secretly recorded discussing accepting payments from SafeSpeed with an FBI informant and later it was discovered that SafeSpeed's co-owner, Omar Maani, was involved. Maani was later charged with one county of criminal information in the bribery scheme, the news media reported.
Sandoval died Dec. 5 at the age of 56 from complications with COVID-19.
“We unexpectedly lost the center of our family today," a statement by his wife, Marina Sandoval and children Angie, Jenny and Martin Jr., said. "Marty was larger than life with an enormous heart and an endless devotion to us. We’re proud of his legacy, miss him already and know he joins his four siblings and parents in a better place all too soon."
Alerts Sign-up