CHICAGO (AP) – A guilty plea has been entered by another defendant in the sports gambling case involving a northern Illinois mayor pardoned by former President Donald Trump. Matthew Knight pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy charges. Federal prosecutors alleged the 47-year-old Knight collected gambling losses or paid off winnings for the multimillion-dollar sports gambling ring. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terry Kinney told U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall that evidence in the case is made up of several secret recordings, as well as “surveillance evidence” of Knight meeting with gamblers, either to pay them or accept money from them. Trump decided in January to pardon Mettawa Mayor Casey Urlacher, who was accused of working as an agent for the ring.
