Chicago Alderman Patrick Daley Thompson charged with making false statements, filing false income tax returns
CHICAGO - Chicago Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson of the 11th Ward has been charged with five counts of willfully filing a false income tax return and two counts of knowingly making a false statement to the FDIC.
The indictment accuses Thompson "of falsely representing on five years of income taxes that he paid interest on money he received from Washington Federal, even though he knew he did not pay interest in the amounts reported on the returns."
Ten other defendants, including several high-ranking former bank employees, were previously charged as part of the ongoing federal criminal investigation into the failure of Washington Federal.
In response to the indictment, Ald. Daley Thompson released the following statement:
"I am very disappointed by the Justice Department’s decision to return an indictment against me today for inadvertent tax preparation errors and my incorrect memory about the amount of a personal bank loan. I discovered the tax error and paid the small amount of taxes I owed. When the bank provided me the documents showing the actual amount of the loan, I promptly paid it back. Both matters were resolved before there was any government investigation.
I want to make two points.
First, my conscience is clear. I did not commit any crime, I am innocent, and I will prove it at trial.
Second, I am, first and foremost, a public servant. The charges in the indictment do not relate in any way to my public service or to my professional life. I remain 100 percent dedicated to serving the people of Chicago to the best of my ability.
I have complete confidence in our system of justice and look forward to showing that the accusation is false."
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.