Ex-Ford Heights Mayor Accused Of Embezzlement

FORD HEIGHTS, IL — Charles Griffin, the former mayor of Ford Heights, is accused of embezzling nearly $150,000 from the village during his eight years as its top official. The Cook County State's Attorney's Office announced this week felony charges of theft and official misconduct against Griffin, who was mayor from 2009 until 2017.

It wasn't until after Griffin left office when irregular activity in two village bank accounts with BMO Harris Bank were discovered. Accountants hired to conduct an audit of the village's financial records on a yearly basis beginning in 2015 were not aware of any BMO Harris Bank accounts until their audit of the 2017 fiscal year, according to a news release from the State's Attorney's Office.

One of the accounts allegedly showed that $134,679 that was deposited that represented the village's local share of the video gaming tax. Prosecutors say Griffin used nearly all the funds withdrawn from this account on personal expenses, which allegedly included debit card transactions at places such as Walmart, Home Depot, Menards and L.A. Fitness.

Griffin was a signatory on each of these accounts and the mailing address on two of the accounts was Griffin’s personal residence, according to prosecutors.

As the mayor of a village where the median family income is less than $25,000 a year, Griffin is also accused of cashing checks worth $13,124.41 that were made payable to the Village of Ford Heights. Prosecutors allege he used these funds on personal expenses as well.

“Theft by a person in a position of public trust is unacceptable and will not be tolerated, “said Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx, who vowed to continue to fight corruption in Cook County.

Ford Heights has long been known as one of the poorest communities in the entire nation. A 1987 report dubbed it the "Poorest Suburb in America." The village had by far the highest voter turnout in Chicagoland in the 2017 primary election.

Photo: Cook County State's Attorney's Office complaint