The corruption trial of former Chicago Ald. Edward Burke is set to resume Monday after a Thanksgiving break with more testimony about an alleged scheme to pressure the owners of a Burger King in Burke’s ward to hire the powerful alderman’s private law firm.
When the trial recessed early on Wednesday, prosecution witness Pam Smith had just started testifying about her role in the remodeling of the Burger King, a project Burke is accused of holding up because the owners had not followed through on hiring his firm, Klafter & Burke, to do their property tax appeals.
The alleged Burger King scheme is one of four episodes laid out in the racketeering indictment against Burke, who is charged with using the powers of his elected office to shake down developers and threaten employees at the Field Museum.
This week will mark the first full week of testimony in the Burke trial, which began with jury selection on Nov. 6 and was delayed after one of the defense attorneys tested positive for COVID-19.
U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall has said that despite the delay, she still expects the trial to finish by the Christmas holiday, which is now just four weeks away.
Burke, 79, who left the City Council in May, is charged with 14 counts including racketeering, federal program bribery, attempted extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion and using interstate commerce to facilitate an unlawful activity.
His longtime ward aide, Peter Andrews Jr., 73, is charged with one count of attempted extortion, one count of conspiracy to commit extortion, two counts of using interstate commerce to facilitate an unlawful activity and one count of making a false statement to the FBI.
A third defendant, real estate developer Charles Cui, is charged with bribery-related counts over a separate alleged scheme to hire Burke’s law firm in exchange for the alderman’s help permitting a pole sign for Cui’s real estate development in Portage Park.
Last week, the jury of nine women and three men heard key testimony from Houston-area fast food restaurant tycoon Shoukat Dhanani, whose Burger King on South Pulaski Road is at the center of the indictment.
Dhanani testified Wednesday about the morning of Nov. 29, 2018, when FBI agents knocked on his door in Sugar Land, Texas, and said they were investigating Burke and needed to ask him some questions about the Burger King renovation.
After Dhanani invited the agents into his dining room, they showed him photographs of Burke and Andrews Jr, and played him a selection of wiretapped recordings made in the case, according to the testimony.
They also asked about a meeting Dhanani had with Burke at the Beverly Country Club over the summer, he testified, and why he felt Burke had tried to push him to hire his private law firm for property tax appeals.
“What I think I may have said (to the agents) was … It was my understanding that I would have to give the alderman the property tax business in order for us to get our permit or get going,” Dhanani testified.
When he was asked about his mood the day the agents came to his door, Dhanani paused and said, “Well I was relieved when they got to the house and they said I’m not in trouble.”
Then he added, “Otherwise I wouldn’t have let them in,” prompting spectators and some jurors to break into laughter.
Attorneys for Burke and Andrews tried to flip the script in cross-examination, painting Dhanani as a savvy, self-made businessman who was making an effort to ingratiate himself with Burke as he tried to expand his footprint in Chicago.
Burke’s attorney, Joseph Duffy, also repeatedly pointed out that Dhanani never actually gave Burke any legal business, and the renovation of the Burger King on South Pulaski Road eventually was completed without any more interference from Burke.
On Wednesday, Duffy drilled down on Dhanani’s testimony on direct examination that he had a “gut feeling” that the reason for the work stoppage at the Burger King was because he hadn’t hired Burke’s firm. Duffy suggested Dhanani’s intuition was flat-out wrong.
“Nobody called you and told you that the job was being stopped because you had not provided work, did they?” Duffy asked, to which Dhanani replied, “No.”
Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
