Former red-light camera company executive Omar Maani, one of the more prolific FBI moles in recent Chicago history, is expected to take a federal witness stand for the first time Wednesday as the bribery trial of state Sen. Emil Jones III kicks off in earnest.
Maani, a co-founder of SafeSpeed LLC who began cooperating with federal investigators after being confronted with evidence of his own wrongdoing, is the star witness against Jones and is expected to testify about secret recordings he made of dinner meetings where he allegedly discussed paying the senator $5,000 for his help on red-light camera legislation.
“You can raise me five grand. That’d be good,” Jones allegedly told Maani over dinner at Steak 48 in July 2019.
Jones, 46, whose father, Emil Jones Jr., led the state Senate for years before orchestrating having his son replace him in 2009, is charged with bribery, use of an interstate facility to solicit bribery, and lying to federal agents. The most serious charge carries up to 10 years in prison, while the others have a five-year maximum term.
Maani is expected to be the first witness called by prosecutors after opening statements Wednesday morning. Assistant U.S. Attorney Prashant Kolluri said his direct testimony will likely take the entire day.
Jones’ trial is the first of a sitting politician at the federal courthouse since then-Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson was convicted in 2021 on counts of tax fraud and lying to banking regulators. The last sitting state legislator to face trial was Derrick Smith, a then-state representative who was convicted of bribery nearly a decade ago.
If convicted, Jones would be forced to resign under Illinois law and would almost certainly forfeit any future pension.
The jury of five men and seven women as well as two alternates was finalized in Jones’ case shortly before 6 pm. Tuesday following the questioning of 45 potential jurors over two full days.
Among the panel of regular jurors: a man who works to clean up hazardous waste sites and is an avid fly fisherman; an accounting clerk from the west suburbs who says he dislikes red light cameras; a woman who is dean of students for small private college; and a man whose sister-in-law is an Illinois deputy governor.
Most of the jurors selected said they’d never heard of Jones, though a few said they believed they knew his name or saw a brief account of his case on the news.
Jones, meanwhile, has maintained his innocence. His lawyers have indicated they intend to argue his actions were business as usual and that the government is trying to stretch political give-and-take into bribery.
”Everyday events involving elected officials must be placed in an honest and fair context,” Jones’ lead attorney, Victor Henderson, told the Tribune last month. “The Senator is looking forward to his day in court.”
Maani’s cooperation was also instrumental in bringing down a host of other elected officials and Democratic political operatives, including Jones’ then-Senate colleague Martin Sandoval, who died of COVID-19 complications in December 2020 while he was cooperating with the government.
Maani was granted a deferred prosecution deal because of his efforts and will wind up without a felony conviction on his record.
Meanwhile, because he was charged in the midst of the pandemic, Maani has not had to appear physically in court until Wednesday.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com