Former Posen mayor pleads guilty to embezzling village funds to gamble at casinos

A former Posen village president pleaded guilty Thursday to embezzling money from the south suburb to spend at casinos.

Donald W. Schupek, 79, entered the guilty plea to one count of embezzlement before U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

While serving as Posen’s mayor, Schupek had the village bookkeeper issue him checks from the municipal account, prosecutors said. He took nine checks totaling $27,000 between June 2014 and August 2016 without the knowledge of Posen’s treasurer or village board.

He then used the money for personal expenses, including gambling at two casinos in southwest suburban Joliet, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

The embezzlement charge carries a maximum sentence of a year in prison and a fine of up to a quarter-million dollars, plus restitution, according to prosecutors. Gettleman set Schupek’s sentencing hearing for Sept. 12.

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