Mastermind of CPS contract-rigging scandal pleads guilty

The mastermind of a contract-steering scheme captured in brazen emails with the CEO of the Chicago Public Schools admitted his role Tuesday and could land in prison.

And with SUPES owner Gary Solomon's admission, "I plead guilty, sir," the stage is now set for former schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett to be sentenced for defrauding Chicago students.

The last of the three to plead guilty in the scandal that ousted Byrd-Bennett in April 2015, Solomon admitted that he and his business partner, Thomas Vranas, plied Byrd-Bennett - their former employee - with meals, sports tickets and the promise of a 10 percent kickback on any business she steered from CPS or any other school district.

The plot began before she even assumed a top-level job at CPS in 2012, and continued after Mayor Rahm Emanuel elevated her to schools CEO. In emails, they promised to pay the bulk of her proceeds as a "signing bonus" once she left CPS and returned as their employee, but she also wanted college funds for her beloved twin grandsons.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Church said that Solomon encouraged a reluctant Byrd-Bennett to join CPS in 2011, explaining "that it would be good for the SUPES entities ... good for Byrd-Bennett, and good for CPS and the city."

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