Businessman Offered $100,000 to City Official for Airport Contracts

Businessman Offered $100,000 to City Official for Airport Contracts

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A Naperville businessman has been charged with bribing a Chicago alderman for lucrative airport concession deals.

Wafeek Aiyahs allegedly offered an influential alderman $100,000 to secure concession contracts at Midway and O’Hare airports. That’s according to a criminal complaint unveiled Thursday by the FBI. The alderman is never named, but published reports indicate it could be Ald. Isaac Carothers.

For one, the complaint says the “cooperating witness” was in an influential figure for both airports. Carothers has a seat on the city’s aviation committee. The city official was also working with federal agents. Carothers is known to have worn a wire for the FBI for a year. Aiyahs is due in court next week.