US jury convicts Chicago-area subcontractor

CHICAGO (AP) - A subcontractor has been convicted of helping a general contractor falsely claim it was fulfilling a Chicago requirement about hiring women-owned companies for a percentage of city work.

A federal jury on Friday convicted 62-year-old Elizabeth Perino of Willowbrook on three counts of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud. She faces a maximum 80-year prison sentence.

A U.S. attorney's office statement says Perino falsified paperwork to suggest that her company, Perdel Contracting Co., would perform work on the projects when it did not.

Prosecutors say a city ordinance sets a goal of awarding at least 5 percent of total annual funding of all city contracts certified Women's Business Enterprises.

No sentencing date was immediately set for Perino.