Consultant to water project indicted
A disbarred attorney who once served as a consultant to the village was indicted Thursday, Jan. 8 for allegedly filing fraudulent tax returns. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s office announced the charges Friday.
According to paperwork filed with the U.S. District Court, Anthony Bruno fraudulently claimed in 2001 that his company, Gray and Associates, had a taxable income of $101, 239. Federal prosecutors, however, allege that Bruno knew the company’s taxable income was greater than that amount. Specifically, the indictment points to a “claimed judgment” of $186,485 against the company which Bruno knew did not exist. Another $5,502 in business expenses were also fudged, according to prosecutors.
Bruno was hired by the village as a consultant to oversee the reconstruction of Forest Park’s water system, and in 2005 federal prosecutors subpoenaed municipal records of that relationship. At the time, Bruno was known to have been under federal investigation since 2003 for his role in a $42 million water project in Melrose Park.
Bruno, 56, was also paid a finder’s fee by Proviso Township High School District 209 for identifying the building at the corner of Roosevelt and 1st as the site of the district’s magnet school.
Former interim chief dies
A career police officer who served the village as an interim chief died in mid December following a long battle with cancer. Carl Dobbs, 76, was at the helm of the Forest Park Police Department from October 2002 until August 2003.
Dobbs held the chief’s position for the Wheaton Police Department from 1980 to 1996, and had served on that force since 1968.
During the village council’s December meeting, commissioners observed a moment of silence in memory of Dobbs, who died Dec. 13. Dobbs is survived by his wife, four children and 11 grandchildren. A funeral service was held in Aurora.
Pete, of Pete’s Grill, dead at 78
The former longtime owner of a beloved diner in Forest Park died this month, some 10 years since he last stood behind the counter of the Madison Street restaurant. Peter Karnezis, 78, owned what is now Louie’s Grill, 7422 Madison, until 1998.
For decades, Karnezis and his wife, Lee, served breakfast and lunch to public officials, actors and average Joes. Mayor Anthony Calderone has been a regular at the diner since the mid ’60s, he said, and came to know Karnezis so well that he invited the restaurant owner to his wedding.
“A lot of people in Forest Park know Pete in the same way that, over the last 10 years, people have gotten to know Louie and his wife,” Calderone said.
Karnezis died Jan. 5 and is survived by his wife, two children and three siblings. Funeral services were held in Chicago at St. Haralambos Greek Orthodox Church, 7373 N. Caldwell.
