UIC Foreman Made More Than $200K In Elevator Bribe Scam: Feds

CHICAGO, IL — A Tinley Park man who worked as the elevator foreman at the University of Illinois at Chicago is accused of accepting more than $200,000 in bribes in order to steer the school's elevator repair work to a Willbrook-based company over a nearly two-year span, according to a federal indictment handed down this week. James Hernandez, 54, was arrested Wednesday and charged with three counts of federal program bribery and a single count of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, the U.S. attorney's office said in a statement.

Hernandez pleaded not guilty in the case and was released on a recognizance bond. Suzy Tamras-Martin — the 68-year-old owner of Smart Elevators Co. — also was charged on the same counts in the indictment, but her arraignment date hasn't been set.

According to federal prosecutors, the bribery scheme allegedly began in April 2013 and ran until at least August 2015. Tamras-Martin, of Naperville, is accused of making payments in order to influence and reward Hernandez in connection with his official UIC duties, which included referring the school’s elevator service and repair work. Smart Elevators received more than $5 million for servicing and repairing UIC elevators from 2011 to 2015, stated the indictment, which was delivered Tuesday and unsealed Wednesday.

Tamras-Martin allegedly hid the bribes by making checks payable to Hernandez's daughter, describing the payments as "professional fees" in company records, according to prosecutors. Hernandez then allegedly forged his daughter's endorsement on the checks before depositing them, authorities said.

Prosecutors are asking a judge to order Hernandez to forfeit about $208,700 in cash he allegedly pocketed from the scam. Both defendants could face up to five years in prison if convicted on the conspiracy charge. The maximum sentence for federal program bribery is 10 years if found guilty.

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