Chicago Cop or Convicted Felon?

Chicago police officer pleads guilty in towing probe -- chicagotribune.com A sidelight to the ongoing towing scam, this is insurance fraud. A cop said his car had been stolen, when he really sold it to a chop shop. This friend did him a favor and helped arrange it.

Joseph Grillo, 46, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to one count of mail fraud for helping the other officer pull off an insurance scam.

Grillo, a 14-year veteran who worked burglaries in the Grand Central District, was arrested last year as part of an FBI probe into police officers pocketing bribes to steer work to tow truck drivers at accident scenes.

Grillo admitted he arranged to make it appear that Officer Steve Campbell's personal car had been stolen in 2007 so Campbell could fraudulently collect on his auto insurance. After a series of calls from Grillo that were captured on a wiretap, James "Meatball" Athans, who operated Collision Towing, had his son tow Campbell's car.

And yes, mail fraud is a felony, even if he is only expected to face about 6 months in prison as a result.

Cops extorting towing companies. Cops defrauding insurance companies. Cops writing bogus parking tickets. And that isn't even the bad stuff that the Chicago PD gets up to.