With seven women and five men empaneled as jurors and adefendant back from his retirement home in the Southwest, the curtainrises again today in U.S. District Court for the trial of a formerjudge charged in the Operation Greylord investigation.
Former Cook County Criminal Court Judge John F. Reynolds, 55, isthe seventh judge to be prosecuted as a result of the governmentinvestigation.
Now retired and living in Irving, Texas, Reynolds was in thecourtroom of U.S. District Judge William Hart yesterday for juryselection in his trial.
His attorneys, Harvey Silets and Susan Brenner, and prosecutorscarefully questioned prospective panel members for more than fivehours before selecting the men and women who will determine Reynolds'guilt or innocence.
Last December, Reynolds, 55, was charged with racketeering, mailfraud and income-tax violations in allegedly taking bribes to fixcases and to allow lawyers to hustle clients.
Reynolds is accused of accepting payoffs from James R. LeFevour,a former Chicago police officer and admitted bribe collector, whileboth were assigned to Traffic Court from 1969 to 1976.
LeFevour, first cousin to Richard F. LeFevour, the convictedformer Municipal Court chief judge, pleaded guilty and has beencooperating with the government.
Reynolds also is charged with accepting kickbacks from attorneysEdward Nydam, Arthur Cirignani and Thomas Del Beccaro for clientreferrals and favorable rulings in cases.
Cirignani, who has immunity from prosecution, and Nydam and DelBeccaro, who have pleaded guilty, are also on the roster of expectedgovernment witnesses.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Reidy and James Schweitzer alsoare expected to show evidence that Reynolds received bribes inpopular downtown restaurants for rulings on two traffic cases.
Reynolds is the sixth judge to stand trial in the corruptioninvestigation. Juries have convicted five judges and acquitted one.Another judge, Wayne Olson, pleaded guilty. Three other current orformer judges await trial.
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