Operation Greylord

Operation Greylord was an investigation conducted jointly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Chicago Police Department Internal Affairs Division and the Illinois State Police into corruption in the judiciary of Cook County, Illinois (the Chicago jurisdiction). The FBI named the investigation "Operation Greylord" after a local racehorse.

The 3 1/2-year undercover operation took place in the 1980s, with the cooperation of some state and local law enforcement and judicial officials. Eventually, with trials extending ten years after the end of the undercover phase, as discussed below, over 92 public officials were indicted (almost all in federal court), and most eventually were convicted, either by guilty pleas or trials.

The undercover phase included two local courts and two Illinois attorneys who agreed to operate undercover (and were allowed to do so by senior Illinois judges, including Harry Comerford of Glenview) as well as numerous FBI agents and cooperating local law enforcement officers. Cook County Judge Thaddeus Kowalski also cooperated with authorities even though he knew his cooperation might endanger his career. Recently elected downstate judge Brocton Lockwood operated undercover in the Chicago Traffic Court. In addition, Assistant State's Attorney Terrence Hake went undercover in the Criminal Division of the Cook County Circuit Court, initially as a prosecutor and later as a defense attorney (although actually on the FBI payroll).

Key undercover FBI agents and lawyers included: David Grossman, David Reis and Hake. As a Cook County prosecutor, Hake initially complained about the bribery and corruption in the Murder and Sexual Assault preliminary hearing courtroom in Chicago. The FBI and United States Attorneys Office learned of his complaint and recruited him to pose as a corrupt prosecutor and later as a bribe-paying criminal defense attorney. Lamar Jordan, David Benscoter, Marie Dyson, William C. Megary, and Robert Farmer were the principal FBI case agents and supervisors during the investigation. Six Internal Revenue Service agents also played key roles in tracking the money flows, including Dennis Czurylo and Bill Thullen.

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