Rolling Meadows Sex Offender Loses Coronavirus Contract: Report

ROLLING MEADOWS, IL — A registered child sexual predator, who served prison time for molesting two teenage girls under his care in 2005, has lost a $700,000 federal contract to provide cleaning and janitorial services to help fight COVID-19 at the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital in Hines, Illinois. Ezekiel Lopez, 49, of Rolling Meadows, and his business, America's Best at Work Corporation, out of Bartlett, entered into contract with the federal government in April, according to a report from USA Today.

Because Lopez, listed as president of the company, was convicted of the crimes in 2007, he did not need to indicate them on the application for the contract as it only asks for felony convictions within the past two years. The first contract was scheduled to continue through Sept. 30, and was signed with no competition from other vendors. The hospital canceled the contract within days of receiving questions from USA Today about Lopez's background on July 23, according to the report.

Lopez served three years of his five-year prison sentence for criminal sexual assault and criminal sexual abuse. Court records indicate he pled guilty in 2007 to sexual relations in the summer of 2005 with a 16-year-old girl. He also molested a girl between the ages of 13 and 17, and was arrested in March 2006 after the girls told relatives. He was 34 at the time of the offenses, according to the Illinois State Police Sex Offender Registry.

Patch reached out to Lopez at a number listed for America's Best at Work Corporation, but the voice mailbox was full. He has not responded to an email request for comment on this story. A website for the business is also currently down.

After the VA canceled its contract in July, its total obligation amount owed to America's Best at Work Corporation decreased from $700,000 to $443,000, according to the USA Today report.

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A Veterans Affairs spokesperson told USA Today that America's Best at Work Corporation met the criteria to become a vendor under federal law, which includes being deemed "responsible" through its registration with the System for Award Management. The vendor also was in good standing with the federal government's database for "performance and integrity," according to the report.

According to public records, America's Best at Work Corporation opened in 2014 and also offers automobile tire distribution services.