Court orders resentencing of ex-Chicago alderman Vrdolyak, compares probation to slap on wrist
By APFriday, January 29, 2010
Court orders resentencing of ex-Chicago alderman
CHICAGO — A divided federal appeals court has ruled that probation is too soft a punishment for a former Chicago Alderman who pleaded guilty in a $1.5 million real estate kickback scheme.
The court ordered Edward Vrdolyak (ver-DOHL’-yak) to be resentenced on federal fraud charges. Vrdolyak, known as “Fast Eddie,” had been sentenced to five years of probation and fined $50,000.
On Friday, Judge Richard Posner of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals called the probation term a slap on the wrist. He says the penalty was so light that there was no assurance Vrdolyak wouldn’t repeat the crime.
Judge David Hamilton dissented, saying the judge who imposed the sentence found that Vrdolyak’s private character is different from his public image as an old-school political boss.
