Chicago City Wire

A longtime associate of Chicago Ald. Ed Burke faces up to five years in prison after being charged with lying to the FBI in an ongoing federal corruption probe.

Rudy Acosta Jr., a precinct captain for Burke who also had ties to former state Sen. Martin Sandoval, was hit with charges of willfully deceiving federal investigators about the criminal activity of others when he was interviewed by FBI agents during as many as six interviews conducted over a two-year period beginning in 2017.

While an arraignment day for Acosta has not yet been finalized, defendants charged in a criminal information as opposed to an indictment from a grand jury, more often elect to plead guilty.

Court filings allege Acosta failed to inform investigators about benefits both he and Sandoval allegedly received from another person — identified only as 'Individual A.'

Acosta’s run in the world of Chicago politics go all the way back to former 1st Ward Ald. Fred Roti, who three decades ago landed in federal prison on corruption charges.

Acosta has served as 14th Ward precinct captain for decades under Burke, who currently faces charges of using his clout as chairman of the City Council Finance Committee to strong-arm business owners into hiring his private law firm to appeal their property taxes.

Acosta was also a key campaign aide for Sandoval while the lawmaker served as head of the Illinois Senate Transportation Committee. In 2019, Sandoval pleaded guilty to bribery related to the red-light camera scandal and was cooperating with the ongoing probe at the time of his death later that year of COVID-19-related causes.

Acosta’s son, Rudy Acosta III, is currently facing federal drug charges alleging that he worked to distribute huge amounts of drugs across the city for Mexican cartel members.