Chicago contractor found guilty of fraud on city’s requirement on minority-owned businesses

A jury found Chicago contractor Elizabeth Perino guilty of four counts of fraud for allowing two other major contractors to use her company as a "pass-through" in order to meet minority goals on city work, according to CBS Chicago.

Prosecutors said that Perino's certified women's business enterprise, Perdel Contracting, was supposed to receive 18% of labor costs and other fees totaling $365,000 as part of a $200 million public works project. Anthony Capello, one of the contractors allegedly using her "sham" company to meet minority requirements, has a similar case pending against him for allegedly setting up a shell company in his wife's name to help win contracts at O’Hare Airport.

Perino’s lawyers allege that Capello set Perino up to work with prosecutors to lighten his own sentence.