Former Deputy Liquor Commissioner of East St. Louis Indicted

A. Courtney Cox, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on August 19th, 2009, WALTER DORTEZ HILL, age 31, of Belleville, Illinois, was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury sitting in East St. Louis, Illinois, in a four-count Indictment charging him with False Statement to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and to the Internal Revenue Service (Count 1), Conspiracy to Commit Extortion Under Color Of Official Right (Count 2), Attempted Extortion Under Color Of Official Right (Count 3), and Corruptly Demanding Money And Property Intending To Be Influenced in Connection With The Duties of Deputy Liquor Commissioner of East St. Louis, A Local Government That Receives Federal Funds (Count 4). The maximum statutory penalty for each count contained in the indictment is as follows:

• Count 1: five years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release;
• Count 2: twenty years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release;
• Count 3: twenty years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release; and
• Count 4: ten years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release.

The Indictment charges that WALTER DORTEZ HILL solicited and obtained money and property not due him or his office as the Deputy Liquor Commissioner under color of official right from other liquor license holders in East St. Louis that included cash, liquor and requests for sexual favors. The Indictment further alleges that WALTER DORTEZ HILL made false statements during the investigation to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and to the Internal Revenue Service pertaining to whether he ever took money from businesses in East St. Louis and whether he ever used another individual to pick up money from businesses in East St. Louis.

An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant and is not evidence of guilt. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of all charges and is entitled to a fair trial at which the Government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The investigation of the case was handled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service/Criminal Investigations. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Norman R. Smith for prosecution.

If you come across evidence of public corruption activities please contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation at (877) U-TIP-OFF