Two half brothers who work as tax analysts for the Cook County Board of Review were arrested Wednesday on a charge of bribery alleging they pocketed a $1,500 cash payoff in 2008 from an undercover government informant who wanted property tax assessments reduced on three residences.
According to undercover recordings cited in the federal complaint, corruption was widespread at the board, which has faced scrutiny in the past for granting questionable reductions in assessed values that led to lower property tax bills.
"They all know about the game," authorities quoted defendant John Racasi as saying in a secretly recorded conversation in which he allegedly explained to the undercover operative how the bribe money typically is divided among analysts for the board's three elected commissioners.
Racasi, 51, and his half brother, Thomas Hawkins, 48, both of Chicago, were released on their own recognizance after their arrests.
Racasi, who has been with the board since 2006, and Hawkins, an eight-year veteran on the job, both worked for Commissioner Larry Rogers Jr. in 2008 and were suspended Wednesday without pay after their arrests became public, according to a statement from the board.
The two were approached about reducing the assessments for cash in August 2008 by the informant, a Chicago police officer who worked undercover after his arrest by federal authorities as part of an investigation of public corruption and gun trafficking.
Federal authorities said they did not move against Racasi and Hawkins for four years because the police officer continued to work undercover in other investigations — including in connection with charges disclosed Tuesday in which a campaign treasurer for a former state senator, two Cook County corrections officers and four others allegedly paid kickbacks last summer to secure thousands of dollars in federal grants.
Dean Nichols, a onetime campaign treasurer for former state Sen. Rickey Hendon who was among those charged Tuesday, also allegedly played a central role in the bribery at the Board of Review. Court records make it clear he is "Individual A," who confided to the undercover cop about the corruption at the board and introduced the officer to Hawkins and Racasi.
According to sources, Hendon once worked for Rogers at the board.
Neither Nichols nor his attorney could be reached Wednesday for comment.
The undercover policeman twice counted out the $1,500 payoff aloud as he handed the cash over to the two outside a restaurant, the complaint charged. The two analysts agreed to reductions in assessments that would save at least $14,200 in taxes over a three-year period on the three residences, authorities said.
The complaint outlined how each of the board's three commissioners employs a staff of analysts who crunch the numbers and make recommendations to the commissioners. Two of the three commissioners must agree on any changes in assessments.
In one recorded meeting, Racasi allegedly explained that he usually charged taxpayers he knew $150 upfront and another $150 when the tax reduction was completed — and double that for people he didn't know beforehand.
Racasi said the bribes had to be split three ways among the staffers for each of the three commissioners who worked on the changes, the complaint alleged.
A month later, Hawkins and Racasi allegedly talked with the undercover officer about a much broader scheme in which they would recruit property owners who would be willing to pay $500 for each assessment that was lowered.
"We're going to have a lot," the complaint quoted Hawkins as saying. "There's going to be so many houses. That way nobody gets hoggish, and there is room to play if you want to play."
