Leon Eddie Mondy, Former Acting Pembroke Township Supervisor, Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Township Accounts for Gambling

A former acting Pembroke Township Supervisor, Leon Eddie Mondy, pled guilty to defrauding township accounts of more than $60,000 from August 2012 to May 2013. Mondy entered his open plea of guilty to one count of wire fraud in an appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge David G. Bernthal. Sentencing has been scheduled for Jan. 23, 2015, in Peoria, before Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Shadid.

Mondy, 35, of St. Anne, Ill., admitted that during the time he was serving as the acting Pembroke Township Supervisor, he withdrew more than $60,000 in cash from various township accounts and spent the money on gambling. Overall, according to court documents, Mondy lost $67,418 from gambling during the same time that he made $66,434 in unauthorized cash withdrawals from Pembroke township accounts.

As township supervisor, Mondy was a signatory and had access to the township’s various bank accounts. Mondy admitted he repeatedly transferred funds between township accounts and withdrew cash from the various accounts under the false pretense that the funds would be used for the benefit of the township. The accounts included Insurance, the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, Water, Community Center, Employee Deductions, Senior Nutrition, and Social Security. The cash withdrawals varied from as little as $300 to as much as $3,542.

The charge is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene L. Miller.

The offense of wire fraud carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000.