Accused village official has previous conviction
A Fox River Grove official accused of trying to spend town funds to link a co-worker up to village utilities previously pleaded guilty to illegally accessing a public gas line to save himself hundreds on heating costs.
McHenry County court records show Daniel J. Hughes, 43, was convicted of misdemeanor interference with a public utility in January 2002 amid claims he ran a natural gas line from a Nicor main in front of his house to a backyard swimming pool heater.
According to the criminal complaint against him, Hughes made the connection in June 1999 without Nicor's consent, and it remained in place until September 2001.
Crystal Lake attorney Daniel Regna, who prosecuted the case while with the McHenry County state's attorney's office, said Thursday he recalls Nicor officials becoming very concerned when they learned about Hughes' actions because it appears the gas line was connected without shutting off the main.
"It was a dangerous situation," Regna said.
Hughes was not available for comment Thursday.
Under the terms of his 2002 plea deal, Hughes was placed on conditional discharge for two years, fined $2,500 and ordered to pay $915 restitution to Nicor.
Hughes, the village's superintendent of water and sewer, now could face far stiffer penalties after his arrest Wednesday on felony charges of official misconduct and attempted theft of government services.
The charges allege Hughes bought construction materials to connect a co-worker's new home to village water and sewer, then billed the materials to village accounts as a water line maintenance expense.
The co-worker, Assistant Superintendent of Streets and Parks John Reese, 43, faces two counts of official misconduct. Both men are free on $2,000 bond with Oct. 12 court dates.
Fox River Grove officials placed Hughes and Reese on unpaid leave Wednesday until the village board makes a final decision on their employment status. Hughes has been a village worker since 1984. Reese joined the village staff in 1992.
Village Administrator Art Osten declined to comment Thursday on the previous case against Hughes.