Ex-Bears Fullback Pleads Guilty In Minority-Contractor Scam
Former Bears fullback Roland Harper pleaded guilty Tuesday to fraud for allowing his trucking company to be used by a white-owned firm to obtain contracts set aside for minority-owned businesses.
Harper, 55, of Algonquin, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of mail fraud and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. In return, prosecutors agreed to recommend he serve about 16 months in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 14.
Harper, who is African-American and was president of Rohar Construction, admitted he obtained contracts from Chicago Public Schools on behalf of Monahan Landscape Co., which got more than $1.5 million in payment.
The landscaping business, based in Arlington Heights, is headed by Aidan Monahan, 58, of Bensenville, who pleaded guilty last week to mail fraud. Monahan faces up to almost 5 years in prison when he is sentenced in September.
According to records, Rohar in 2003 was awarded a contract from the schools to oversee landscaping on some of its property, even though trucking, not landscaping, was Rohar’s specialty.
CPS spokesman Mike Vaughn said that when Rohar was awarded the contract, Rohar was believed to be “a general contractor with landscaping capabilities.”
“But when our Office of Business Diversity got involved, they questioned whether Rohar had landscaping capability,” Vaughn said. That office then notified the CPS’ inspector general’s office, which investigated and notified authorities.
Once Rohar was hired, Assistant U.S. Atty. Nancy Miller said, Monahan used his equipment for landscaping and controlled Rohar’s bank accounts.
Tags: aidan, algonquin, arlington heights, bensenville, business diversity, chicago public schools, cps, fullback, general contractor, inspector general, landscape, landscape co, Landscaping, mail fraud, mike vaughn, minority contractor, minority owned businesses, monahan, nancy miller, prosecutors, trucking company0
Friday, June 20th, 2008
