Former Ald. Ed Vrdolyak to complete sentence for tax evasion on Thursday
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Twice-convicted former Ald. Ed Vrdolyak is nearly done with his latest prison sentence.
Nicknamed "Fast Eddie" for his backroom dealings, Vrdolyak pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges in 2019.
Prosecutors say he siphoned off millions of dollars from Illinois' $9 billion settlement with tobacco companies in the 1990's, but he did no legal work on the case. Vrdolyak pleaded guilty in 2019 to seeking to help another lawyer to evade paying about $800,000 in income taxes as part of that scheme.
He was sentenced to 18 months in prison in late 2020, but didn't have to report to prison until nearly a year later, due to his age and health, and the added risks of the pandemic.
Vrdolyak was moved to a Downers Grove halfway house in April 2022 to complete his sentence.
Now 85, his sentence officially comes to an end on Thursday.
Vrdolyak also did a 10-month stint in federal prison in 2011 in a $1.5 million real estate kickback scheme. In the mid-1980s, he led an aldermanic bloc staunchly opposed to C