Westchester corruption case involving bathtub and ex-public works director appears over
The criminal investigation into the village of Westchester’s now-former public works director using taxpayer resources to buy and install a bathtub in a supervisor’s house has concluded with a guilty plea, and it appears nobody else will face charges.
Scott Russell, the former head of public works in the western suburb, pleaded guilty in the spring to a single count of theft of governmental property, records show.
As part of his guilty plea, Russell paid “full restitution of $1,139.42 to the Village of Westchester,” according to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office, which prosecuted the case.
Russell was sentenced to two years of probation and 30 hours of public service.
Other municipal officials who allegedly were involved in the scheme — including the former supervisor — don’t seem likely to face any criminal reckoning.
“As for Westchester, our case is closed,” says a spokeswoman for the Illinois State Police, which spearheaded the probe. “We don't have any active investigations involving Westchester.”
A spokesman for the attorney general says Russell’s “sentence is the resolution to the matter at this time.”
Left unanswered are questions about a land deal that was also part of the investigation.
Westchester’s government bought two commercial buildings for several million dollars in 2021, with plans to renovate them into a new municipal complex.
Renovations started but the project was subsequently halted and scrapped, and the buildings were put back onto the market.
The circumstances surrounding those original plans drew scrutiny, with a court filing last year saying, “There is currently an ongoing investigation into other individuals and/or companies regarding their conduct in the bidding and awarding of contracts and making payments as they relate to the 2021 relocation of the Village Hall, Police Department and Building Department by the Village of Westchester.”
Sources familiar with the project have said there were questions about why village staff initially provided an estimate on the renovation costs that were later found to be “majorly off base.”
There are also questions whether certain village officials had “relationships with contractors” involved in the renovations.
Westchester’s village manager at the time has since left the job and couldn’t be reached for comment.
Russell’s 2023 indictment, which included several charges that have since been dropped, says, “Defendant knowingly ordered and authorized the use of a Village of Westchester credit card to make a personal purchase of a bathtub intended for private use which was not a valid Village of Westchester expense.”
Other court records say Russell “authorized and directed” a village employee “to perform personal plumbing services at the private residence of his supervisor” while “on village time.”
A west suburban Riverside resident, Russell allegedly “submitted a coded credit card statement” to a village official “as part of a scheme to defraud” the municipality by conveying “the subject credit card charge was a valid village expense.”
Westchester’s municipal government has since created more controls to ensure nothing like this happens again, officials say.
The suburb's village president, Greg Hribal, wouldn't comment.