The operator of a Wrigley rooftop club accused of ripping off the Cubs, the city of Chicago, Cook County and the state of Illinois to the tune of at least $600,000 has been fired, company officials said Saturday.
On Friday, federal authorities said they’ve charged R. Marc Hamid of Skybox on Sheffield with bilking the Cubs and the government out of hundreds of thousands of dollars using the rooftop venue.
Attorneys for Skybox said Saturday that Hamid, a minority stakeholder in the business, has been “relieved of all duties and responsibilities.”
They also noted that the allegations against Hamid cover 2008 to 2011 and that a group led by Edward A. McCarthy has been the majority stakeholders in Skybox since only 2013.
The indictment against Hamid says he schemed to under-report Skybox’s gross revenues to the Cubs — who were supposed to get a 17 percent cut — by about $1.5 million and that his actions resulted in the filing of false sales and amusement taxes with the state, city and county that understated attendance and revenue.
“By concealing the actual revenues of Skybox on Sheffield from the Cubs and state and local taxing authorities, defendant caused Skybox on Sheffield to unlawfully withhold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of royalty payments rightfully owed to the Cubs . . . and hundreds of thousands of dollars due and owing to state and local taxing authorities,” the indictment says.
Hamid’s attorney, Chris Gair, could not be reached Saturday. On Friday, he said, “My client didn’t do anything wrong, and we’re going to prove it in court.”
