Related Tags: Barbara Byrd-Bennett, Chicago Public Schools.
Barbara Byrd-Bennett Chicago’s Public Schools former CEO has been pleaded guilty in the allotment of $23 million in no-bid contracts to her previous employer in bribes and kickbacks.
During her first appearance in court on 20 counts of mail & wire fraud Byred-Bennett was pleaded guilty to 1 count of mail fraud, and on other counts prosecutors agreed to drop. Each fraud could carry maximum 20 years of jail.
According to Federal prosecutors as Byrd-Bennet has been cooperating in investigation and she has agreed to testify against her co-defendants if there would be need for it. Barbara Byrd-Bennett is the first chicago Public Schools CEO facing such type of criminal charges.
This also had been alleged by the feds that Byrd-Bennett was schemed with SUPES Academy owner named Gary Solomon and co-owner Thomas Vranas “to secretly profit from schools.”
Byrd-Bennett who is 66 previously working as consultant for SUPES Academy before joining Chicago Public Schools in April 2012.
During 2013 a contract of $20.5 million was given to SUPES without any bid from Chicago Board of Education. It was guaranteed by SUPES that a percentage of money would also be shared with Byrd-Bennett and it was also guaranteed that she would be back to her job after she left the Chicago Public Schools.
solomon and Vranas offered Money, tickets to sporting events and other type of kickbacks in exchange for the contract with CPS.
