LOGAN SQUARE — Outgoing Ald. Joe Moreno (1st) is in jail Wednesday morning, facing charges of insurance fraud and obstruction of justice for telling police his Audi had been stolen this winter.
The 46-year-old, who lost his reelection bid in February amid a string of damaging headlines including the Audi report, was arrested Tuesday. He’s due in court Wednesday.
He’s officially charged with one felony count of insurance fraud between $10,000 and $100,000, and one felony count of obstruction of justice, police said.
Chicago Police launched an investigation in February into whether Moreno falsified a police report when he told them his Audi was stolen.
In a statement, police said:
“On May 14, 2019, offender Moreno was placed in custody on charges of insurance fraud and obstruction of justice in relation to a police report Moreno filed on January 4, 2019 in which Moreno claimed his vehicle had allegedly been stolen. Offender was charged accordingly and will appear in Bond Court today. No further information.”
In early February, news broke that Chicago police were investigating whether Moreno filed a false police report in which he claimed a woman stole his Audi. The woman, a single mother, told WGN Moreno had agreed to let her borrow the car after the two went on a date. The alderman chalked the report up to a misunderstanding.
On Feb. 8, State Rep. Will Guzzardi, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and Assessor Fritz Kaegi — three of the area’s most successful progressive politicians — condemned Moreno’s campaign staff for including their photographs on mailers without the politicians’ permission. Moreno did not respond to a request for comment.
Then, a former aide accused Moreno of sexual harassment when she told WBEZ the alderman orchestrated a pay raise “contest” in which staffers were asked to remove their shirts at a bar. Moreno’s staff claimed the 2014 alleged incident never happened.
Moreno was defeated by alderman-elect Daniel La Spata in the February election, just weeks after the news of his false police report surfaced.
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