Owner Of Bridgeport Warehouse Destroyed By Fire Convicted Of Bribing An Alderman
By Chuck Sudo in News on Jan 25, 2013 3:15PM
The owner of the Bridgeport warehouse that went up in flames earlier this week and required nearly 200 firefighters to put out the blaze and contain is serving a prison sentence for bribing an alderman.
DNAInfo Chicago’s Casey Cora reports Calvin Boender is listed as the president of North Development, Ltd., “property development and management company specializing in agricultural and commercial real estate.” Boender was at the center of a bribery scandal that eventually led to former Ald. Isaac “Ike” Carothers (29th) being convicted of accepting over $40,000 in free home improvements and White Sox playoff tickets in exchange for his support for zoning changes to Galewood Yards on the West side. The zoning changes pushed by Carothers led to developers making $6 million more on the project; Boender pocketed $3 million.
Carothers pleaded guilty to one count each of accepting a bribe and filing a false federal income tax return and was sentenced to 28 months in prison. Boender is currently serving a 46-month prison term in a federal prison in Kentucky.
Firefighters have been working to keep the remaining fires in the building under control, hampered in part by the freezing conditions that have led to thick sheets of ice forming on the structure. A city buildings department spokeswoman said the warehouse will be demolished by a private company.