Officials Investigate Firm After Finding Its Leader Has Been Dead

CHICAGO (AP) – Authorities are reviewing whether another Chicago company qualifies as a minority firm, this time because officials learned the black woman listed as its chief operating officer has been dead for more than a year. Both companies under review are owned by Jabir Herbert Muhammad, who is accused of using his Crucial Inc. as a minority front for businessman Antoin “Tony” Rezko, a key adviser to Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Chicago officials have moved to revoke Crucial Inc.’s minority status in an effort to make the firm ineligible for the city’s program that awards contracts to women- and minority-owned businesses. A series of scandals in recent months involving companies that fraudulently obtained minority set-aside contracts has prompted a cleanup of the program. Meanwhile, Cook County officials began looking into Muhammad’s other firm, Crucial Communications LLC after learning “very recently” that Deloris Wade died Jan. 23, 2004, and was still listed with Cook County as the chief operating officer, county spokeswoman Caryn Stancik told the Chicago Tribune Friday. “It was the county’s understanding that she was in charge of day-to-day operations,” Stancik said. “We were not officially notified of her death.” The county will review whether the company, which has a contract to run inmate telephone service at the Cook County Jail, still qualifies as a minority firm. Crucial Communications submitted its affidavit for minority recertification on Sept. 14, 2004. That was eight months after Wade’s death, but the company’s filing didn’t mention she died. The affidavit said nothing had changed in the company’s management. Roxanne B. Jackson, the attorney for Muhammad, who is the 75-year-old son of Nation of Islam founder Elijah Muhammad, said she was uncertain whether her client believed he was required to notify the county of Wade’s death. Cook County tries to award at least 35 percent of its professional services and consulting contracts to minority- and women-owned businesses. Crucial Communications gets about $1.7 million a year as a minority subcontractor with SBC Illinois. Cook County documents show that Crucial Communications has ties to Rezko. His lawyer, Gene Murphy, said Saturday that Rezko is not involved with Crucial Communications, but is a partner with Muhammad in Crucial Inc. According to the documents, Wade’s resume shows she was special assistant to the president at Rezko Enterprises for nearly six years. While at Rezko Enterprises, Wade submitted the application to certify Crucial Inc. as a minority-owned business with the City of Chicago. Rezko, who is not eligible to run a minority owned business because he is white, has the licensing rights for the Panda Express chain in five states, including Illinois. The city claimed that Muhammad’s Crucial Inc. was a front that enabled Rezko to run Panda Express restaurants at O’Hare.