CHICAGO (AP) – A former City Colleges of Chicago official and seven others have been indicted on charges they operated a $350,000 kickback scheme awarding contracts to companies with ties to the official.
Former city colleges associate vice chancellor Sharod Gordon of Oak Park is charged with 16 counts of wire fraud. At the time of the alleged scheme, the 45-year-old Gordon was responsible for community relations, recruitment and legislative affairs.
The indictment returned Tuesday in U.S. District Court alleges Gordon had the authority to award contracts worth less than $25,000. Prosecutors say that from 2013 to 2017, Gordon awarded contracts for canvassing communities and distributing City Colleges flyers to companies in which he had a secret interest for kickbacks worth thousands of dollars. Defense attorney Gregory Mitchell couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Court records show Gordon was fired in May for an unrelated matter.
