They’re All Connected
Larry Bloom, former alderman. Government tapes show that the City Council’s Mr. Clean needed a good scrubbing. The biggest catch for the federal Silver Shovel investigation, Bloom shocked former colleagues and City Hall watchers when, just before his December trial, he pleaded guilty to lying on a tax return–and admitted taking $14,000 in bribes from government mole John Christopher. Christopher gave Bloom $10,000 for his unsuccessful run for county treasurer, and Bloom asked for fake names to disguise it as campaign contributions. When Christopher offered to include the names of dead people, Bloom replied, “The more dead the better.”
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colleagues for becoming the first alderman to ever wear a wire. Streeter was sentenced in June to eight months for extortion in yet another Silver Shovel case. He pleaded guilty to snaring over $37,000 in bribes from an undercover FBI agent and government mole John Christopher. He went beyond the call of duty, instructing the agent in the art of political corruption, saying, “Stick around, young man, you’re learning.”
Prisoner 1998-6
