Lemont Man Bribed Cook County Assessor's Employee: U.S. Attorney

LEMONT, IL — A Lemont man and owner of a Chicago area construction company has been charged with conspiracy to bribe a public official, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois.

Alex Nitchoff, 56, is also charged with two counts of using a facility in interstate commerce (a cell phone) to facilitate the acts of bribery, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

From 2016 to June 2019, Nitchoff conspired with others, both known and unknown, to bribe Lavdim Memisovski, an employee of the Cook County Assessor’s Office, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Memisovski was a commercial group leader with the assessor's office, and he assessed property values for Cook County commercial properties and reviewed property tax appeals for commercial properties.

Nitchoff, along with others, provided Memisovski with home improvement materials, home improvement services, contracts for electrical work, jewelry, meals, sporting events tickets and other items of value, intending to influence Memisovski in connection with his work as a Commercial Group Leader, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Memisovski, in return, ensured that appeals of property assessments related to Nitchoff and his business associates were routed to himself so that he could extend deadlines for the filing of appeals and reduce assessed property values, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The charge of bribery carries a possible sentence of up to five years in federal prison, and each charge of using a facility of interstate commerce carries a possible sentence of up to five years in federal prison.