Ex-Chicago tow truck driver sentenced to 9 years in prison for scamming tourists

Columbus south of Balbo

You don't hear about stories such as this one from other cities. But Chicago no longer has a soul.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

A former city tow truck driver has been sentenced to nine years in prison for soliciting bribes from downtown sightseers whose cars he;d towed.

Cook County Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Flood sentenced Lennie Perry Wednesday to nine years in the Illinois Department of Corrections followed by three years of supervised release, according to a statement from the Chicago Office of Inspector General. Perry was previously found guilty of two felony counts each of bribery and official misconduct.

In the late evening hours of Sept. 19, 2014, a driver who had parked near Columbus and Balbo returned from sightseeing to find that her vehicle had been towed, prosecutors said. She flagged down a nearby city tow truck and the driver, Perry, told her that her vehicle would be returned if she paid him $150.

When the victim told him she didn’t have the money, Perry directed her to his wife, Arica Reed-Perry, who was parked in a vehicle across the street, the OIG said. Reed-Perry drove the victim to an ATM then dropped her off at her vehicle after receiving the $150.

The victim then called the cops--who promptly arrested the tow-truck driver's wife. It was quickly learned that Perry pulled off the same scam twice before. Reed-Perry pleaded guilty--she received probation.

Why would any tourist want to visit Chicago after reading this story?