Onetime Aide to Ex-Chicago Mayor Admits Charity Theft

A top staffer in former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley’s administration pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing tens of thousands of dollars from two charities in the city’s Chinatown district, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Prosecutors said Gene Lee, 65, misappropriated about $92,000 from the Chicago Chinatown Summer Fair and the Chicago Dragons Athletic Association while heading both groups from 2007 to 2010. He admitted to federal theft and tax-evasion charges and faces up to two years in prison.

A longtime community leader in Chinatown, Mr. Lee worked at City Hall from 1998 to 2011, rising to serve as Mr. Daley’s deputy chief of staff. According to prosecutors, he manipulated invoices and cashed donation checks to divert funds to personal use. A defense attorney said Mr. Lee believed he was spending the money on legitimate charity purposes, such as buying gas to drive to events and new suits to wear to meetings with donors.