Former Streit Business Associate Cops Plea on Federal Corruption Charges

A former Cook County Commissioner and one-time business associate of Trustee Bob Streit (Dist. 3) pleaded guilty in an extortion case before a federal judge on Monday, the Sun-Times reported.

Joseph Mario Moreno, 60, who once represented the town of Cicero while sitting on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, confessed to one count of conspiracy to commit extortion, the Sun-Times said.

Moreno also signed a plea deal acknowledging that he had accepted a $5,000 bribe to ensure the development of a waste transfer station in Cicero while sitting on the town’s economic development committee, and steering county business to a medical supply company in exchange for forgiving a $100,000 loan on his house.

The convicted ex-Cook County Commissioner served as general counsel and a managing partner of Streit and attorney friend Dennis Brennan's company, Illinois Energy Aggregation LLC, that negotiates alternate energy rates on behalf of municipalities.

Illinois Energy Aggregation has secured contracts for Evergreen Park, Chicago Ridge and Worth Township. The energy company was formed in 2011, according to state records.

Moreno resigned from Illinois Energy Aggregation when he was indicated on federal corruption charges in June 2012. He now faces a maximum federal sentence of up to 20 years. He is to be sentenced on Oct. 17.

The range of Moreno's crimes covered the time he served as a Cook County Commission from 1994 to 2010, and his 2010 work for the Town of Cicero, the Sun-Times reported.

None of the crimes he was convicted of involved Illinois Energy Aggregation.