Waste Contractor Ties Put Riverdale Mayor in Prison

Former Riverdale Mayor Lawrence Jackson received a six-month prison sentence Thursday after a jury found him guilty of lying under oath about financial ties to landfill owner James Bracken, whose companies did business with the village. After his conviction, Jackson resigned as mayor and forfeited his publicly funded pension.

The Business Relationship

The case began with a civil lawsuit from Tri-State Disposal. The waste company accused Jackson of favoring Riverdale Materials, which Bracken owned, including by firing the village’s Zoning Board of Appeals chair and appointing “persons politically connected to the mayor.” Judge Sara Ellis later ruled that Tri-State hadn’t presented enough evidence of political retribution, and the company lost its lawsuit.

Prosecutors said Jackson wanted to replace a troublesome contractor and asked Bracken to find a new waste company. Bracken connected him with Flood Brothers, which the village hired for a spring cleanup event in May 2018, although Tri-State already had an obligation to do the work. During a 2021 deposition, Jackson denied playing a role in hiring Flood Brothers and said village administrator Tim Williams had introduced him to the company. Prosecutors said both answers were lies.

Trial testimony also covered Centennial Holdings, a trucking business that Jackson and his wife incorporated despite knowing nothing about running such a company. Texts and emails shown to the jury indicated Bracken managed payroll, insurance, timesheets, truck assignments and nearly all of the company’s daily operations. Prosecutors said Jackson lied about his wife’s role in maintaining company records and his accountant’s role in truck leasing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirsten Moran wrote that Bracken had arranged a job for Jackson’s wife at Morris Dirt and that Jackson collected pay for little work. “Defendant's only role in the company was to pick up a paycheck once a week and pay the truck drivers. Bracken ran defendant's business—for free—and gave defendant a paycheck for effectively no work.”

The Court and the Public Cost

U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman said Jackson had led an otherwise exemplary life. Jackson worked his way from Chicago’s housing projects, washing dishes to pay for college, entering public service and becoming mayor on a promise to improve Riverdale’s finances. But Gettleman said the lie under oath was serious because Jackson held public office and dealt with people doing business with the village.

Prosecutors asked for a longer sentence. Gettleman rejected probation, saying elected officials needed to hear that lying carried consequences. Jackson didn’t speak before sentencing. His attorney read a statement saying Jackson “is not able to stand before the court and admit that he violated the law.” His lawyers argued that Jackson’s deposition answers reflected honest mistakes and poor questioning. “Mayor Jackson's answers in that deposition were truthful,” defense attorney Gabrielle Sansonetti told the jury.

State campaign records show that companies affiliated with James and Kelly Bracken gave more than $30,000 to Jackson’s campaign fund from 2016 to 2021. The donations included an $8,177 in-kind contribution for Jackson’s 2019 golf outing. Bracken hasn’t faced charges of wrongdoing. Jackson’s attorneys said he refused to tell the FBI Bracken had bribed him because, they said, it wasn’t true.

Riverdale’s public finances stayed strained during Jackson’s tenure. In his last reelection bid before prosecutors charged him, Jackson said the village had renegotiated contracts, restructured debt and moved toward solvency. Fitch Ratings downgraded Riverdale to CCC in its latest report in April, citing a negative balance of available general fund reserves and very limited liquidity. Jackson had earlier warned Riverdale would never recover fully after former government mole John Thomas stole more than $375,000 in taxpayer funds earmarked for a development along the Little Calumet River.