Former Bloomingdale Twp. road boss admits taking kickbacks

A former suburban highway commissioner admitted Thursday that he took more than $281,000 in kickbacks and sought to hide the money from his wife, but he temporarily paused his scheme in 2013 because it was an election year.

Robert Czernek's fraud on Bloomingdale Township then continued, evolving from a plan to pad the invoices of Bulldog Earth Movers until the excavation company began to blatantly seek payment for work it never did, splitting the proceeds 50/50 with Czernek.

The scheme cost Bloomingdale Township $547,195.

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