SUPES Academy Owners Plead Not Guilty in CPS Kickback Scheme

The owners of Wilmette-based SUPES Academy both pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and mail fraud Wednesday - one day after former Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett pleaded guilty to similar charges in connection to the same alleged kickback scheme involving a $20.5 million no-bid contract for principal services.

Gary Solomon, who has close ties to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and his partner, Thomas Vranas, are accused of arranging to pay Byrd-Bennett hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks in an indictment unsealed last week. They both pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Wednesday, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The alleged scheme would have netted Byrd-Bennett hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in return for steering lucrative no-bid contracts to SUPES, Byrd-Bennett’s former employer.

more via the Chicago Tribune