'He's Just a Thief', Prosecutor Says of Former Oak Forest Deputy Fire Chief

A prosecutor Monday argued that former Oak Forest Deputy Fire Chief knew of his wife’s financial wrongdoings, and called the pair a ”criminal organization” for allegedly funneling more than $350,000 from the Palos Heights Fire Protection District.

The trial of Charles Sopko began Monday, with Assistant State’s Attorney Michael O’Malley painting him as ”one half the criminal organization known as the Sopko family,” reports the Chicago Tribune.

His wife Michelle pleaded guilty in March, after prosecutors said she redirected more than $350,000 from the fire district where she worked from 2008 to 2012, into the bank account she shared with her husband. Her schemes included paying herself overtime and paying salaries for two “ghost” employees. She and her husband were arrested in December 2013. She was sentenced to eight years in prison; her family members are repaying $120,000 to the fire district.

She is expected to testify on her husband’s behalf.

An investigator from the Cook County Sheriff’s Financial Crimes Unit testified Monday that the couple’s paychecks were deposited directly into a shared bank account, and then she transferred the extra, stolen funds into an account in his name.

Throughout the couple’s ordeal, Michelle has maintained that Charles was not aware of the embezzled funds, but O’Malley laughed at the claim.

”The defendant would have to be brain-dead to not know what was going on,” O’Malley said, as reported by the Chicago Tribune.

Circuit Court Judge Kerry Kennedy is hearing the case, which is expected to continue until at least Wednesday.