Crime & Safety

North Side Residents Charged with Bribery in Traffic Ticket Case

The residents were charged with one count of felony bribery in the same court where they were employed, prosecutors said.

Two north side residents were charged with bribery after accepting money to “take care of” a traffic case for Cook County, according to a press release from the office of Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.

Benjamin Maldonado, 50, and Jamie Baez, 59, were each charged with one count of felony bribery in the same court where they work. Baez was a Cook County deputy sheriff and Maldonado is a clerk in the Cook County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office.

Prosecutors said both defendants worked at the Daley Center in 2010 when they accepted $2,000 from a man seeking legal representation after being charged with driving without a license. 

Find out what's happening in Lincoln Squarewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Baez referred the man and his wife to Maldonado saying that he was an “excellent” attorney, prosecutors said. Maldonado, who is not a licensed attorney, said he would help with the case for $2,000, according to the release. 

“Maldonado met with the couple and indicated that he would appear in court on the man’s behalf and showed them court paperwork related to the traffic case. He boasted that they should consider the case 'won' and told the couple he would also use his connections to 'clear up' the man’s driving record,” the release states. 

Find out what's happening in Lincoln Squarewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The couple paid Maldonado $1,000, who gave Baez $500, prosecutors said. At the court date, Maldonado received the remaining $1,000 beforehand but never went to the hearing.

When the couple later contacted Maldonado, he said everything had been cleared and the man didn’t need to attend next court date, prosecutors said.

A Chicago police officer came to the man’s home five days after the scheduled appearance with an arrest warrant. His wife told the officer the attorney had said not to come to court. She went to confront Maldonado, who said he would take care of it.

Prosecutors said Baez then called the wife asking for secrecy and telling her not to complain.

The couple and Maldonado went to the Daley Center together for the next court date. Maldonado told the man to say Maldonado was his translator and not his attorney and that he had missed court because of his sick mother, prosecutors said. A continuance was granted in the case.

Weeks later, police arrested the man again for driving without a license. He learned Maldonado had not corrected his driving history as promised.

The two defendants will go to a trial at a later date, the release stated. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.