BETTY LOREN-MALTESE

'Betty Loren-Maltese' (born c. 1949 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is the former Republican Town President (i.e., mayor) of the Town of Cicero, Illinois. She was convicted in 2002 on Federal charges of corruption in office and Mafia relations, and was implicated in a scheme to steal $12 million from the town treasury. Also implicated in the scandal was former Chicago alderman Edward Vrdolyak. Before her election as town president, Loren-Maltese served as an aide to former Town President Henry Klosak. She was sentenced to 8 years in prison.
In 1990, Loren-Maltese' husband, Frank Maltese, plead guilty to mob-related gambling charges. In 1993, she was appointed to the position of Town President by her husband after the then-Town President died in office and Frank Maltese (heir-apparent to the position) was facing prison time.
In March 2001, ''This American Life'' did a story on the town of Cicero, including segments on Loren-Maltese. The hour-long program is available on their website (Episode 179) [1]. The segment detailed some of the strong arm-tactics used in the 2001 campaign, including attempts to lengthen the residency requirement for town president in order to block candidates from running against her. A Federal judge struck the referendum down, and sent federal election monitors to watch over elections for the next five years.
In the 2001 election campaign, she had a campaign fund of $1 million - surprisingly large for a town of just 80,000 people.

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External links

External links

★ ABC News story

★ This American Life

★ 2000 indictment

★ Betty Loren-Maltese's dance with the mob