A security company — started with an allegedly illegal loan obtained by ex-Laborers’ Int’l Union of No. Am. boss John Serpico — reportedly got $800,000 in no-bid business from the Ill. Int’l Port Authority while Serpico was chairman of the IIPA. After the Chicago Sun-Times began questioning the deal, Serpico sent a letter to Ill. Gov. George Ryan (R) saying he would not seek reappointment to the IIPA, which oversees a Chicago’s South Side industrial complex. Serpico has been appointed and reappointed to IIPA by every governor except Ryan since 1975. His most recent term expired earlier this year.
A federal racketeering indictment alleges Serpico used a $195,000 loan in 1988 to provide startup cash for Protective Service Systems. It was one of nine loans cited. (For news on the other loans, visit www.nlpc.org.) Allegedly, Serpico used union muscle and cash to leverage the bank loans on sweetheart terms. [Chi. Sun-Times 9/13/99]