Former Washington Park Street Superintendent Sentenced to Prison for Forging Village Check
| U.S. Attorney’s Office March 14, 2014 |
Douglas T. Knowles, 37, of Washington Park, Illinois, was sentenced to three months in federal prison, followed by six months of home detention and three years of supervised release, for the offense of uttering a forged check of the Village of Washington Park, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois Stephen R. Wigginton announced today.
In December 2012, Knowles, who was a public works/street superintendent for the Village of Washington Park, purchased and picked up a gas range from Gil Klein TV & Appliance Inc., a/k/a Klein’s Brand Source, in Fairview Heights. Knowles presented a Village of Washington Park check purported to be signed by the Mayor of Washington Park for payment. It was later learned that Knowles forged the endorsement of the Mayor and used the gas range for his private residence.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations as part of the Metro East Public Corruption Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Norman R. Smith.