A suburban contractor swept up in the corruption investigation of then-McCook Mayor Jeff Tobolski has been charged with tax evasion, tying up a loose end in a sprawling probe that brought down more than a dozen people.
Simo “Sam” Krneta, 68, a former La Grange Park contractor who now lives in Albany, New York, was charged in a criminal information made public Thursday with a single count of filing a false tax return in 2017. The one-page charge alleged Krneta reported his 2016 income was $321,000, when in fact it was “substantially” higher.
An arraignment date has not been set, but defendants charged by way of information, rather than by a grand jury, typically intend to plead guilty.
Krneta’s lawyer, Josh Herman, told the Tribune the case “reflects our collective efforts to arrive at a fair and just resolution.”
”Sam is prepared to accept responsibility,” Herman said in a written statement. “He looks forward to closing out that short and unfortunate chapter in his life, and continuing to focus on his health concerns and his family.”
Krneta, formerly of Western Springs, was a friend of Tobolski’s and Krneta’s company, Renovation Associates, did many projects for the village of McCook while Tobolski was mayor.
Krneta’s name first surfaced in a search warrant executed by the FBI in 2019 at village hall in McCook as part of the Tobolski investigation.
At the time, Krneta had just completed a major renovation of the Alta Grill restaurant inside the McCook Athletic & Exposition Center facility, also known as The Max. The FBI search warrant sought checks and other evidence regarding The Max project, as well as information about a “Latino Nights” event held there, records showed.
Krneta was not charged at the time.
Tobolski, meanwhile, pleaded guilty in September 2020 to conspiring with McCook’s then-police chief, Mario DePasquale, to extort a restaurant owner at The Max who needed permission to host events serving alcohol on village-owned property. At the time, Tobolski doubled as McCook’s liquor commissioner.
In all, Tobolski, who was also a Cook County commissioner, admitted to accepting more than a quarter of a million dollars in bribes or extortion payments over the years. He also was showered with a variety of other benefits, including cash, cigars, dinners, holiday gifts, sporting event tickets and free air-conditioning units, which an unidentified developer installed at Tobolski’s home at a cost of $18,000.
Tobolski was sentenced earlier this year to four years in prison and had been set to report in January. He fell ill in October, however, and died Sunday, two days after the charges against Krneta were brought.
The probe that ensnared Tobolski and Krneta stretched from Chicago’s southwest suburbs to the Capitol building in Springfield, where federal agents raided the offices of then-state Sen. Martin Sandoval in September 2019, thrusting the case into the public spotlight.
Two days later, agents fanned out across the suburbs, executing search warrants at village halls and the homes of several elected officials, including Tobolski, where they found $51,000 in cash stored in a safe. Tobolski resigned from his elected positions the following March.
Sandoval pleaded guilty to bribery involving a red-light camera company executive and was cooperating with federal investigators — including on matters involving Tobolski — when he died of COVID-19-related complications in December 2020.
Over the years, Krneta donated tens of thousands of dollars to Tobolski’s campaigns, state campaign records show.
Krneta was convicted in 2019 of misdemeanor battery stemming from an incident at Tobolski’s August 2018 golf outing and fundraiser at Gleneagles Country Club in Lemont, Cook County court records show.
A former manager at the Alta Grill accused Krneta of fondling her from behind and attempting to take her phone out of her back pocket, according to the court records. When she protested, Krneta allegedly grabbed the victim by the throat at the event and said, “I’m untouchable. I always get what I want,” the records show.
Krneta pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six days in Cook County Jail, court records show.
The victim, meanwhile, sued Tobolski, Krneta and the village of McCook, alleging she was repeatedly harassed by Krneta while village officials turned a blind eye to the abuse.
The suit was dismissed in January 2021 for reasons not explained in the court record.