A longtime political operative at the center of the investigation into former Ald. Daniel Solis has been charged in a scheme to steer a massive Chicago Public Schools contract to a Cleveland-based company in exchange for donations to Solis’ campaign.
In addition to the alleged contract fraud, Roberto Caldero was also accused in an indictment filed in U.S. District Court with offering $100,000 in bribes from a suburban business owner to Solis in exchange for the alderman’s help securing an honorary street name for the businessman’s father and renaming a city park after his grandfather.
Solis was already cooperating with the FBI at the time and helped keep the ruses going for investigators, including pushing the street renaming in the City Council, according to the 20-page indictment.