Co-Defendants In Schools Kick-Back Scheme Plead Not Guilty

CHICAGO (AP) — Two co-defendants in a scheme to steer $23 million in no-bid contracts to an education firm in exchange for kickbacks to the former head of Chicago Public Schools have pleaded not guilty.

The arraignment Wednesday of Gary Solomon, co-owner of SUPES Academy, and his partner, Thomas Vranas, came one day after schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett admitted wrongdoing.

Solomon and Vranas are accused of arranging to pay Byrd-Bennett in exchange for her using her influence to steer no-bid contracts to train principals and other administrators to SUPES.

The indictment alleges Byrd-Bennett expected to receive kickbacks worth 10 percent of the value of the contracts, or about $2.3 million.

Byrd-Bennett stepped down from the third-largest school district in the U.S. in June after word spread about a federal investigation into the contract.

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