A suburban contractor swept up in the corruption investigation of then-McCook Mayor Jeff Tobolski admitted in federal court Tuesday he paid bribes in exchange for contracts with the village and also acted as the mayor’s bag man for other illicit payments.
Simo “Sam” Krneta, 68, a former La Grange Park contractor who now lives in Albany, New York, pleaded guilty to a single count of filing a false tax return in 2017. Federal guidelines call for 10 to 16 months in prison, though he’s also eligible for probation.
U.S. District Judge April Perry set sentencing for Aug. 13.
The case against Krneta stemmed from a sprawling probe into corruption in Chicago’s western suburbs that brought down more than a dozen people, including Tobolski and several other suburban mayors, state legislators, political operatives and businessmen.
Krneta, formerly of Western Springs, was a friend of Tobolski’s, and his company, Renovation Associates, did many projects for the village of McCook while Tobolski was mayor.
According to his 18-page plea agreement with prosecutors, Krneta agreed to kick back 5% of any work billed to McCook to Tobolski in 2011 in exchange for the mayor’s help landing new business. Over a period of about eight years, Krneta paid Tobolski about $17,500 as part of the agreement, the plea stated.
During the same time period, Krneta also collected about $40,000 in bribe and extortion payments on Tobolski’s behalf from others doing business with McCook. Krneta kept about $16,000 of those payments for himself, the plea agreement stated.
In his 2017 tax return, Krneta reported $321,000 in net income, even though his total income, which included about $4,000 derived from criminal activity, exceeded $400,000, the plea stated.
Krneta also underreported his income on tax returns for three other years, omitting bribe payments he received for his work as a construction manager for the neighboring village of Summit, the plea stated.
As part of his plea, Krneta agreed to pay about $59,000 in restitution to the IRS and the state.
Krneta’s name first surfaced in a search warrant executed by the FBI in 2019 at village hall in McCook as part of the Tobolski investigation.
At the time, Krneta had just completed a major renovation of the Alta Grill restaurant inside the McCook Athletic & Exposition Center facility, also known as The Max. The FBI search warrant sought checks and other evidence regarding The Max project, as well as information about a “Latino Nights” event held there, records showed.
Krneta was not charged at the time.
Tobolski, meanwhile, pleaded guilty in September 2020 to conspiring with McCook’s then-police chief, Mario DePasquale, to extort a restaurant owner at The Max who needed permission to host events serving alcohol on village-owned property. At the time, Tobolski doubled as McCook’s liquor commissioner.
In all, Tobolski, who was also a Cook County commissioner, admitted to accepting more than a quarter of a million dollars in bribes or extortion payments over the years. He also was showered with a variety of other benefits, including cash, cigars, dinners, holiday gifts, sporting event tickets and free air-conditioning units, which an unidentified developer installed at Tobolski’s home at a cost of $18,000.
Tobolski was sentenced earlier this year to four years in prison and had been set to report in January. He fell ill in October, however, and died in November, two days after the charges against Krneta were brought.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
