Federal prosecutors paint teal estate developer Charles Cui as an unrepentant criminal who deserves more than four years in prison for trying to bribe then-Ald. Edward Burke to help him secure a pole sign permit for a Northwest Side liquor store.
Cui’s lawyers, meanwhile, say their client is a hardworking immigrant from China whose brief dalliance with Chicago’s most powerful alderman was a blip in an otherwise law-abiding life.
Those wildly diverging assessments set the stage for Cui’s sentencing Friday, which will likely be the final court hearing stemming from the bombshell corruption investigation into Burke, which culminated in Burke’s conviction and sentencing in June to 2 years in federal prison.
Another defendant, Burke’s longtime ward aide Pete Andrews, was acquitted of all charges by the jury in December.
Prosecutors are asking for a sentence of about 51 months for Cui, writing in a recent court filing that the “sophisticated attorney and businessman … clearly knew what an illegal bribe was.”
“Motivated by greed, he chose bribery as a means of obtaining benefits (the pole sign permit) to which he was not entitled, all for the purpose of increasing his wealth,” prosecutors said. “He knew what the law prohibited, and he chose to put his desire for money over the rule of law, despite his training and experience as an attorney.”
Prosecutors also argued Cui presents a strong risk of recidivism, saying that once he’s released from prison, Cui “will continue to pursue wealth through his business ventures.”
“While one hopes that Cui has learned a lesson from this case, there is no objective basis upon which to rest that hope,” prosecutors wrote. “Only a strict sentence will send the message to Cui that, should he re-offend, the consequences will be substantial and result in a substantial loss of his freedom.”
But the stiff sentencing request from prosecutors seems like a tall order considering that U.S. District Chief Judge Virginia Kendall only handed down two years to Burke, who was Chicago’s longest-serving alderman and who, unlike Cui, was convicted of racketeering conspiracy for a series of schemes where he sought to use his official position for personal gain.
Cui’s lawyers wrote in their sentencing filing that Cui was “significantly less culpable” than Burke given he’s not a public official, was not charged with racketeering, and was only involved in one of the four criminal episodes contained in Burke’s sweeping indictment.
“While every defendant is viewed individually, and Burke’s age and good deeds played a role in (Burke’s) sentence, he was convicted of more offenses, and more serious offenses, than Mr. Cui,” wrote attorneys Susan Pavlow and Adam Sheppard.
Cui was convicted by the jury of hiring Burke’s firm, Klafter & Burke, to do property tax appeals in exchange for Burke’s intervention in a permit dispute for a standalone pole sign for Binny’s Beverage Depot.
The jury found him guilty on five counts: corruptly offering or agreeing to give things of value; using an interstate facility to promote unlawful activity; and knowingly making a false statement to the FBI.
During the two-month trial, jurors heard meticulously detailed evidence about the pole sign permit, which was for a development far away from Burke’s 14th Ward. Cui stood to lose significant money if the sign couldn’t be used, and reached out to Burke, hoping his clout would grease the wheels with the city.
In perhaps the most damning evidence of the pole sign episode, jurors were shown a 2017 email from Cui to his lawyer, asking to switch attorneys.
“Can I have Edward Burke handle 4901 W Irving Park property tax appeal for me, at least for this year?” Cui wrote. “I need his favor for my TIF money. In addition I need his help for my zoning etc for my project. He is a powerful broker in City Hall, and I need him now. I’ll transfer the case back to you after this year.”
Burke tried to smooth the way for the permit sign, jurors heard, calling the city zoning administrator and reaching out the buildings commissioner. The permit, however, was still not approved, and ultimately the sign was torn down.
Cui also emailed Burke asking him for representation from Klafter & Burke, records show.
On Aug, 25, 2017, Burke responded to Cui’s email saying someone from his firm will reach out. Over the next week, Burke was caught on wiretaps telling his assistant to call then-Buildings Commissioner Judy Frydland about the pole sign, according to court records.
After Frydland talked about it with Cui, he had his zoning attorney submit a photoshopped image of the sign to the Buildings Department purporting to show the sign had been in recent use.
On Sept. 5, less than two weeks after his first outreach to Burke, Cui signed contingent-fee paperwork hiring Klafter & Burke for the Portage Park development, according to records.
By that time, however, Cui’s photoshopped image was red-flagged by a Buildings Department design specialist, who brought it to Frydland’s attention, according to court records.
Cui tried to claim the image came from a real estate broker who could vouch for the image’s accuracy, and, after learning about the issue, Burke allegedly had his assistant contact a zoning administrator to help resolve it, according to court records. Both efforts failed, and City Hall’s denial of the sign permit became final on Nov. 6.
Over the next several weeks, however, Burke voted in favor of several other measures involving Cui’s property that came before the City Council, including a permit for a different sign board and an ordinance granting a privilege “in the public way,” according to prosecutors.
When Cui was confronted by FBI agents in 2019, he lied about his interactions with Burke, saying he’d only hired Burke’s firm because he’d “heard” they were good tax attorneys, according to trial testimony.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
