Former Ald. Arenda Troutman pleads guilty
Former Ald. Arenda Troutman pleaded guilty to two federal counts this afternoon, including admitting to taking bribes as an alderman. Troutman could face up to 56 months in prison.
Troutman once adamantly denied taking part in bribe-taking in exchange for zoning preferences while she was alderman. But the FBI ran an undercover sting, recording Troutman while she allegedly engaged in illegal transactions.
(Rich Hein/Sun-Times)
Troutman was notoriously captured on tape saying that all aldermen are “ho's.”
The alderman or her former campaign committees were accused in an indictment with collecting about $60,000 in payoffs.
In one case, Troutman agreed to write a letter of support for a development on King Drive in 2003. She allegedly handed the developer a flier and tickets for a fund-raiser called the “Masquerade Ball” that her 20th Ward Regular Democratic Organization was holding and told the developer something like, “You just bought some tickets.”
The developer contributed a total of $5,000 to three of her campaign funds, and the developer's alley access request was granted, the indictment said.
Weeks after she was charged in early 2007, Troutman lost a bid for reelection. She is expected to pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo.
Troutman lawyer Sam Adam Jr. said Troutman did an about-face and pleaded guilty a month before her scheduled trial because she wants to get the case behind her and her family. She has two young children.
Adam said Troutman has not cooperated with authorities and will not cooperate.
Adam said he hopes the judge will credit Troutman for pleading guilty when she's sentenced in December. Prosecutors say Troutman faces 46 to 57 months in prison. Adam will argue for 18-33 months, he said.
Troutman's surprise guilty plea comes just months after her reputed boyfriend, Donnell Jehan, surrendered to authorities after being on the lam for four years.
Jehan, whose nickname is “Scandalous,” reputedly is a high-ranking Black Disciples gang member. He is charged with helping lead a South Side drug business that raked in up to $300,000 a day.
In a search of Troutman's home last year, authorities recovered photos of Troutman and Jehan together.