Feds Charge Riverdale Mayor With Perjury, Obstructing Justice In Garbage Corruption Suit

CHICAGO — The mayor of south suburban Riverdale faces up to 25 years in prison on charges he lied under oath and obstructed justice when a former city contractor accused him of political retaliation.

Lawrence Jackson, 49, was indicted Wednesday on one count of perjury for allegedly lying about his relationship with the recycling and waste hauling company Riverdale Materials LLC during a Feb. 25, 2021, deposition.

Jackson testified that day in a civil lawsuit filed by Tri-State Disposal naming him and the village as a defendant.

That suit, filed in February 2018, alleged that Jackson had given preferential treatment to Riverdale Materials and retaliated against Tri-State for opposing the issuance of a permit to its competitor.

"Tri-State Disposal Inc. v. The Village of Riverdale and Lawrence Jackson" was resolved last July when a federal judge sided with the Riverdale defendants, but federal prosecutors say that during his testimony he corruptly obstructed the lawsuit by lying during his testimony.

According to the indictment, Jackson and his wife had a trucking company in their name called Centennial Holdings. But prosecutors say it was actually run by Riverdale Materials owners James Bracken, who has not been charged with a crime and who is described as "Individual A" in the indictment, and his wife, Kelly.

"Although Jackson and his wife owned Centennial on paper, [Bracken] effectively operated Centennial for the benefit of Jackson and his wife, who had no experience in or knowledge of the trucking business," prosecutors alleged.

"[Bracken's] Businesses financed Centennial’s operations with a loan and advanced money for Centennial’s operating expenses, such as the costs of fuel, insurance, repairs, and licensing, which was repaid from Centennial’s income," according to the 11-page indictment said. "Centennial’s income came from providing hauling services to [Bracken's] Businesses, which deducted from their payments to Centennial the expenses that [Bracken's] Businesses incurred in operating Centennial and payments on the loan, until [Bracken] forgave the balance of the loan."

During his deposition, Jackson sought to hide Bracken's "extensive involvement" in his company's operation, his relationship with Bracken and Bracken's involvement in a scheme to replace Tri-State with competitor Flood Brothers.

"Jackson communicated with [Bracken] immediately before his deposition," according to the indictment. "During his deposition, Jackson exchanged text messages with [Bracken] regarding the topics covered during his deposition."

The Riverdale mayor falsely claimed that the village administrator had introduced him to the other garbage company and recommend it replace Tri-State as the village's garbage collector.

In May, federal prosecutors reportedly sent a grand jury subpoena to Riverdale Village Hall and executed a court-authorize search at the home of Mayor Lawrence Jackson.

A conviction for obstruction of justice punishable by probation to up to 20 years in federal prison, while the perjury charge can be punished by up to five years of incarceration.