Mayor of Chicago suburb pleads not guilty to perjury, obstruction charges
RIVERDALE, Ill. (CBS) -- The mayor of south suburban Riverdale pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to federal perjury and obstruction of justice charges.
Lawrence Jackson, 49, was indicted last week related to allegations that he received secret payments from a garbage and recycling company. Federal prosecutors have said Jackson lied under oath when testifying during a depositon for a 2018 civil lawsuit.
As CBS 2's Tara Molina reported, in that lawsuit, Tri-State Disposal accused Jackson of giving preferential treatment to another garbage collection company, whose owner is accused of giving Jackson's own trucking company kickbacks.
Jackson has been mayor of Riverdale for 10 years. He has been under investigation on allegations of receiving secret payments from a garbage and recycling company.
The federal charges he now faces carry a sentence of up to 25 years in prison.
Federal prosecutors say Jackson lied under oath when testifying during a deposition for a civil lawsuit filed in 2018 by waste management company Tri-State Disposal Inc.
Tri-State claimed Jackson refused to renew their contract so he could give special treatment to a different company, whose owner is accused of giving Jackson's own trucking company kickbacks.
Federal prosecutors detail the 2021 deposition, where they say Jackson lied about his dealing with that firm - denying he knew the owners when investigators had evidence of prior history and text messages, and denying knowledge of business dealings.
He testified, "I don't handle the day-to-day operations of the business," according to the indictment.
