Former Bears player pleads guilty in scam

A former Bears running back pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud Tuesday, admitting he acted as the minority front man for a white contractor out of Arlington Heights.

Roland Harper, 55, of Algonquin pleaded guilty in U.S. District Judge John Darrah's courtroom, admitting that although he posed as the main bidder for a landscaping contract with the Chicago Public Schools, it was, in fact, Monahan Construction of Arlington Heights that did the lion's share of the work.

That was in violation of Chicago Public School bidding rules that required Harper's company, Rohar, to perform at least 50 percent of the work and Monahan, his alleged subcontractor, no more than 25 percent of the work. Monahan has already pleaded guilty.

Harper will be sentenced Oct. 14.

Federal guidelines recommend a sentence of 33 to 41 months, but in exchange for Harper's cooperation, prosecutors have agreed to request only half of the 33 months, or 16½ months, in prison. Harper is also free to ask for probation, and Darrah will have the final say on the sentence, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry Miller.

Harper's lawyer, Patrick Cotter, said he didn't know what sentence he would request but acknowledged it would likely be less than 16 ½ months.

Harper originally had planned to perform the work, using Monahan as a subcontractor and a mentor, Cotter said.

"The original concept was legal and good," Cotter said. "What went wrong … it eventually became clear that there was no monitoring going on.

"The horrible mistake that Mr. Harper made is there came a point where he should have pulled out … and for a year, he did not."

Harper, drafted to the Bears in 1975 alongside Walter Payton, finished his career as sixth on the Bears' all-time rushing list. He accounted for 3,044 yards and 15 touchdowns on 757 carries over seven seasons. The Shreveport, La., native's best season was in 1978 when he rushed for 992 yards and caught 43 passes for 340 yards.