Operation Silver Shovel was a major

United States Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

(FBI) probe into political corruption in Chicago during the 1990s. By the end of the probe illegal activities from labor union corruption to drug trafficking, organized crime activity and elected city officials on the take were unearthed, and corruption convictions were handed out to 18 individuals.Operation Silver Shovel.
FBI Chicago.

Background

In the 1980s, the federal

Operation Greylord Operation Greylord was an investigation conducted jointly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Chicago Police Department Internal Affairs Division and the Illino ...

investigation of the

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

courts found almost 100 lawyers and judges who were eventually sent to jail, disbarred or suspended for illegal actions. However, when the individuals were heading off to jail, some lawyers and judges fixed cases. That produced Operation Gambat, which unearthed more corrupt officials and suspects.

The operation

John Christopher was an FBI mole, an insider to the Chicago construction business and now a convicted felon and lifelong American Mafia associate. The FBI relied on Christopher to get audio or visual recordings of illegal transactions including bribes, money laundering and

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

purchases. By 1995, Christopher had made over 1,100 recordings. The informant gave cash payments or other bribes to city officials in exchange for help in obtaining work. These officials include city

aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members the ...

, city inspectors, project leaders, and others. The bribes centered on city contracts for hauling

construction debris Construction waste or debris is any kind of debris from the construction process. Different government agencies have clear definitions. For example, the United States Environmental Protection Agency EPA defines construction and demolition materia ...

; Christopher paid officials to allow him to dump debris in illegal areas. The bribes totaled $150,000 in the end, and the money laundering over $2.2 million.

Indicted

# Ambrosio Medrano, 25th Ward alderman # Allan Streeter, 17th Ward alderman # Jesse Evans, 21st Ward alderman # Lawrence Bloom, 5th Ward alderman # Virgil Jones, 15th Ward alderman # Percy Giles, 37th Ward alderman

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silver Shovel, Operation Federal Bureau of Investigation operations Political corruption investigations in the United States Political scandals in Illinois