Madison County Man Sentenced for Aiding Extortion
Extortionist Who was Aided was Former Deputy Liquor Commissioner and Assistant to Mayor of East St. Louis
| U.S. Attorney’s Office July 29, 2011 |
Albert C. Thompson, 32, of Edwardsville, Illinois, was sentenced in the United States District Court in East St. Louis on July 29, 2011, for attempted extortion, Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today.
“Neither the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, nor my office will abide with public corruption. One of my highest priorities is to assure all of the citizens of Southern Illinois that they can have faith in their officials. Anyone with any information about public corruption is urged to contact the FBI,” stated United States Attorney Wigginton (a toll-free telephone number for such contact is provided at the end of this release).
On April 15, 2011, Thompson entered a plea of guilty to an indictment charging attempted extortion under color of official right, aided and abetted by the former deputy liquor commissioner of East St. Louis. The violation took place from July of 2008, through September of 2008, in St. Clair County, Illinois. As part of the plea, Thompson admitted that he assisted the deputy liquor commissioner in extorting money from a person operating a convenience/liquor store in East St. Louis and that $5,000 cash had to be paid in order to permit the business to continue to operate. Thompson received a sentence of 12 months’ incarceration, three years’ supervised release, a $1,000 fine, 250 hours of community service, and $500 restitution to the victim. The person Thompson aided was the former deputy liquor commissioner and assistant to the mayor of East St. Louis, Walter D. Hill, who is serving a 60-month prison sentence in this case.
The investigation of the case was handled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service/Criminal Investigations. The prosecution of the case was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Norman R. Smith and Steven Weinhoeft.
If you are aware of any evidence of public corruption activities please contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation at (877) U-TIP-OFF.