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Roberto Caldero, a long-time Chicago political operative, has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison for wire fraud by U.S. District Judge Steven Seeger. Caldero, who pleaded guilty to eight charges in September, was accused of attempting to influence a $1 billion Chicago Public Schools janitorial contract and using former Alderman Daniel Solis’ clout to solicit campaign cash and secure a park and street renaming for a donor. During the hearing, Judge Seeger slammed Caldero, stating he had “added another star on Chicago’s walk of shame on the sidewalk of corruption”. Caldero’s name surfaced in 2019 in an FBI search warrant affidavit alleging he had provided erectile dysfunction drugs and sexual services at a North Side massage parlor for Solis. Seeger called Caldero a “weapon of mass corruption” and compared him to a “director, if not executive producer” of a movie. Caldero is due to surrender on June 7, after which he will be on probation for two years.
