Former Crestwood Mayor Lou Presta To Be Released From Federal Prison

CRESTWOOD, IL — Former Crestwood Mayor Lou Presta’s declining health did not prevent him from being sent to federal prison this year, but it has led to his early release.

Presta will be released from prison either on Thursday or Friday, less than a year into his one-year sentence for accepting bribes from a red-light camera executive during an FBI sting, the former mayor’s attorney confirmed to Patch on Thursday.

Presta, who will turn 73 in October, was ordered to be released from prison immediately after U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin ruled that Presta should serve out the remainder of his sentence while being confined to his home.

His attorney, Burt Odelson said Thursday that Durkin made his ruling after an independent review of Presta’s health confirmed that he is failing and needs more medical attention than he is currently receiving. Once back in Crestwood, Presta will begin treatment for his ongoing health conditions.

Citing privacy laws, Odelson said he is limited in what he can say about the former mayor’s health.

“(Presta’a release was) very important,” Odelson told Patch. “His health is such that he needs more medical care than the facility could give him.”

Presta reported to a federal medical prison in Kentucky in June and was scheduled to be released in April of 2023. Odelson said that the facility was one where prisoners dealing with health issues are sent and said that Presta has been receiving medical care and has been hospitalized.

But he said that Presta’s declining health reached a point where doctors felt he needed to be released from prison so he could receive more regular medical care from his own doctors and at a local hospital.

The order came months after Presta’s attorneys said that the former mayor was experiencing grave health concerns including heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and vertigo, The Daily Southtown reported.

Presta pleaded guilty in December to federal charges of using a facility in interstate commerce in the aid of bribery and tax offenses, including failure to file a return and filing a false income tax return.

The former mayor was indicted on federal corruption charges in 2020. Presta stepped down as mayor of Crestwood last fall. According to Presta's attorneys, the former "Lou Can Do" mayor is ashamed and remorseful for his crimes.

“I never thought I'd be a criminal,” Presta said. “Because of what I did, I’m rightly here. I’m so very sorry for not paying my taxes and accepting a bribe as mayor. I’m 72, my wife is 81, I’m not in good health and I take a lot of pills to keep going, so I’m worried about what's going to happen to me and my family as a result of my actions.”

“I also want to apologize to the people of Crestwood,” he continued. “I loved being involved in the village and loved the people I worked for. I’m deeply sorry for letting them down and (hope to) repair the harm I did to the village.”

Presta’s attorney hopes people will respect his client’s privacy and said the former mayor will not be speaking publicly about his release.

“He has to try to get healthy,” Odelson said Thursday.