Ex-Water Dept. worker gets 90 days in prison

But Frank Cannatello, 30, was not spared from prison. He will spend 90 days in a prison camp and will pay a $5,000 fine after he admitted he lied about setting up a Hired Truck company and steering business to it while he worked for the city.

On Tuesday, Cannatello couldn't get the words out without breaking down.

"I am very remorseful for what I have done," Cannatello said, growing red-faced and stopping to fight back tears. Cannatello spoke of his 7-year-old son and said: "I'm glad he's too young to understand what's going on."

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly said while he believed Cannatello was a good guy, he thought he needed to do some prison time for impeding the prosecution's efforts. Kennelly said it wasn't the "crime of the century," and said he didn't doubt Cannatello's remorse was sincere. Still, he said lying to federal agents only delays the "truth getting out."

Cannatello's uncle, John Cannatello, is among those charged in the Hired Truck scandal. A fixture in 11th Ward politics, John Cannatello was sentenced to 27 months for bribing city officials to get work for his company, GNA Trucking Inc. John Cannatello's wife, Nicki, is also expected to plead guilty.

Since getting fired from his job with the city Water Department in a payroll scandal last year, Frank Cannatello said he opened a South Side sandwich shop.

nkorecki@suntimes.com